As our kids venture across the shaky bridge into the tween years, parents follow alongside them—gripping the rails, dodging eye rolls, and pretending they totally know what they’re doing. In these in‑between years, the moments are joyful and often amusing, but it can also be difficult and testing for parents, causing their stress and anxiety to peak.
A Regular Day
A parent’s day can feel like an endless reel of packing lunches that somehow come back half untouched, stuffing school bags like tiny suitcases, making breakfast while yelling, “Are you ready yet?” and racing out the door to beat the morning bell, only to return hours later for pickup, doing laps for a parking spot that isn’t in a completely different zip code.
And that’s just the morning. Once at home, it’s time for household chores, while being constantly serenaded by distant cries of “Moooom!” from every corner of the house. Apparently walking the extra ten steps is far more exhausting than yelling across the room.
Once a minimum quota of chores is conquered, leaving me feeling ridiculously triumphant—considering there are days I can’t finish a single thing. The kids immediately announce they’re “starving,” so it’s time to whip up snacks before chauffeuring them to whatever sport they’re signed up for that night. After dragging ourselves back home, it’s a mad dash to throw dinner together, inhale it in three bites, speed-clean the disaster zone. Lastly it’s time to attempt the nightly circus act of getting the kids into bed before I fall asleep standing up.
Finding Time To Relax
The ultimate skill is to stay awake long enough to have just a moment to myself, like read a page in my book, watch some TV or take a bath. Now I know all you parents know exactly what I’m talking about!
Use the path of patience and love!
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