When your children are small and snuggly and clamor
for your attention you can’t imagine there will come a day when they will
ignore you, dismiss you, or outright avoid you. But the day comes. And I don’t
care how sweet and loving your child is, or how close you are or how openly
they share their hearts with you; one day they will shun you. I promise. And
it’s a good thing. Even if it doesn’t feel like it.
I looked up the word parenting in the dictionary and
it says: “the rearing of children.” And what is “rearing”? I, being a horse
person, of course thought of that moment when the horse lifts its front end off
the ground and attempts to set you on your butt. But Dictionary.com says, “to
take care of and support up to maturity.” Huh. So there’s some comfort in
knowing that once they are mature I don’t have to support them anymore. I know
a few parents that would find that knowledge welcome relief.
