Savor Every Minute of Parenthood

Author: Rachel Nunez

Parenthood is such a wonderful thing. Holding a tiny, squirming baby in your arms, borne from love that you yourself cultivated is indeed one of the highlights of life. Endless possibilities await your little bundle of joy from the moment he opens his eyes for the first time.

In a couple of months, your baby will be babbling with you, trying to talk with you. Then they'll start wiggling their feet and stomping around the place while saying that magical first word that captivates every loving mother and father's heart. And before you know what hit you, they've already turned eighteen, are making their own decisions in life, and flying out of the nest to make their own mark in destiny.

So here's a quick bite for a parent to chew up and digest for a moment: time flies.

In the short span of a person's life, it is childhood that leaves the deepest impressions in the mind of a growing child. These impressions often stick like super-glue with them their entire life, and are also as hard to remove as super-glue. With that in mind, what really matters is the impression you are going to leave your child as they grow older.

Will they remember you for being the loving daddy that carried them around his shoulder as they squeal in joyous abandon inside the toy-section of a kid's store? Or will they remember your angry, uncalled-for barks as you scold them for even just staring at that very same kids store because you're too busy to care? Will they remember you as the caring mother who tenderly dresses the cuts and scrapes they get while playing in the yard? Or will they remember you knocking them around because they got mud on their clothes for the nth time and screaming at the top of your lungs for something so trivial?

It all boils down to love.

Believe it or not, even an unborn infant inside its mother's womb can feel if it is loved or not. A baby born from an unexpected conception, an angry and bitter mother in an equally angry and bitter environment will be born and grow up with more problems than a baby that's expected and cared for in a loving environment.

This may all sound so daunting and seemingly impossible. But truth be told, you don't need to be the perfect parent. There is no such as a perfect parent. Mistakes are made along the way, and these mistakes will come your way sooner or later. What then matters is that you know how to correct your mistakes soon enough that your child would understand and become stronger with you.

A parent who truly, genuinely loves his or her child will take the necessary steps to make sure that their child would grow up strong, healthy, with character, a healthy outlook on life, and most importantly, knowing what love is. A person can never truly love unless he himself knows what love is. And that is the greatest gift any parent can give their child.

Children are only children for such a short time. So whether it's a quick trip to the kids store or simply just horsing around with them, make sure you make the best of those precious few years you've got being a full-time parent. You sure won't regret it when the time comes.