Parenting is hard

I didn't have to be a parent long before I realized what people meant when they said parenting is hard. I knew it; it is physically draining.

I remember on cue every time I put my oldest in her carseat, she would vomit. It was usually when I was in a hurry. I would run and sweat to change my clothes, her clothes, and clean the carseat. I mastered the art of rethreading a carseat buckle after washing. As any parent can attest, this is the equivalent to an enlarged Rubic's cube. Parenting is hard.

Or when you finally solve the mystery that is baby projectile vomiting, you have another kid. My second did not sleep through the night until he was 12 months old. One full year of minimal sleep. Truly physically demanding.

But that was just two kids.

We move, and because I must change jobs at my company. I lose my nice part time schedule. Three kids, but I now must work full time until something opens up.

Never under estimate the power of The Gap. My kids were 18 months apart, and I could put a body builder to shame with my arms due to the fact that I was always CARRYING TWO KIDS AT A TIME.

And number three was not an easy baby. She got salmonella poisoning on a family vacation. For 3 months, I cleaned up diarrhea. She would run like a faucet even when she had two OR THREE diapers on at once. I will never forget that smell. I was collecting poop samples as mandated by the Health and Human Services for 8 weeks until the infection was gone. This was sooo hard... And disgusting.

With number four, we juggled two full time jobs, football season, multiple hospital visits, and surgeries all while mommy was obtaining her Master's degree. Yes, I have seen hard days.

But I would do it all over again to avoid this. The really hard part.

When people warned me that parenting was hard, they meant to say that it was hard physically... and emotionally.

I would have 18 years of sleepless nights cleaning diarrhea and vomit then have to hold your crying six year old multiple times each day and explain why she will never see her friend again. Or console a crying child after he was hit by a peer and now thinks that means no one likes him.

I'll take the physical pain any day.