I took the kids to the dentist this morning (obviously the three older ones because the twins don't so much have teeth). And incidentally, I'd like to add how glad I am that this task only comes around once every six months. I've always hated going to the dentist, but I'm not sure why. My dentist growing up was a very nice man. And I only had like one cavity--ever. I just hate the smell of the dentist office and the whole ordeal of having someone scraping and cleaning my teeth. Yuck.
Back to the original story. While in the waiting room, I was updating some paperwork for T. When I signed my name in the "Responsible party" box and wrote "mother" on the "relationship to patient" line, it really got me thinking. Whenever I have to fill out paperwork like that, I'm always struck by the thought that I am someone's mother. And not just one someone, but five of them. Sometimes I still feel like a kid myself, much less someone who should be responsible for the welfare of other human beings.
I mean, it's all well and good to have babies--sweet, snuggly, babies who are perfectly happy with anything you do. But then those babies grow up to be real people; and you're responsible for teaching them and molding their personalities. There's that word again--responsible. With this thought process, I didn't necessarily have any epiphanies about how exactly to feel less overwhelmed by being the responsible party--more just a realization once again that my husband and I have been entrusted with five little people to love, care for, and teach everything we can to before we send them off into the world to become their own responsible parties.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
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4 comments:
Yes, too overwhelming sometimes to think of all that I should be doing to mold my child into a giving, responsible adult.
Tennille, what an awesome post. As the "Responsible Party" for one shiny, newly-minted Deacon (as of Sunday), I TOTALLY relate to what you're saying... probably even more than I would like to admit. As I watched 16 worthy men surround my only child and grant him the amazing power of the Priesthood, I couldn't help but wonder if I had done all that I could to prepare him for this day... and more importantly, for the days ahead. I decided that on the "Superior Teaching Moments of Motherhood" continuum, I was somewhere in the middle... and, if I'm being honest, probably toward the lower end of the middle... but I love my son SO MUCH MORE than the lower-middle, and in that moment I realized with blazing clarity that I -- ME, MOM -- am responsible for making sure that my son becomes the man God wants him to be.
I'm not big on New Year's resolutions per se... but on that day, as I watched my son through teary eyes officially begin his journey into manhood (and into junior high next year, UGH), I silently vowed to move a LOT further up that continuum this year... while holding my YOUNG MAN as close as I possibly can.
Thanks for sharing.
This thought strikes me on a regular basis too. And I remember as a kid thinking my parents always had all the answers (and that's what our kids think of us right now), but realizing as I came to be their ages that they didn't really know anything either ;).
For a lot of the time I feel like I'm playing house....going through the motions of what I've been taught to do but surely a more responsible party will come up behind me and fix whatever I have slacked off on. Looking at my house, one would certainly know that this sadly isn't true. I'm it. No one coming in but me....I am the responsible party here. It's scary enough to make you want to go hide in a closet and eat cinnamon bears for awhile.
I will say that is the nice thing about one day at a time. One day at a time we get a little wiser and realize what is more important and by the time we are grandparents, we will have figured it all out, right?
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