"Because You Give Me Hugs & Kisses Every Night...."

I spotted the questions above on Pinterest some months back & thought it might be both fun & interesting to ask my children what their answers would be!

I've been fairly honest recently about the fact that this year I have been experiencing some challenging times as a parent....

I wrote about it here, here & here....

Life at home feels more than a little out of kilter right now....

and as well as managing the day to day ups & downs, I've had to ask myself some questions.

I've wondered why I haven't made my daughter more resilient & able to cope in tough situations, asked myself if I could have done more of or what I've done wrong.

I haven't been able to make it better - and that's a horrible & very tough feeling as a parent.

I've also held my hands up & confessed that I simply don't know what to do....

I'm still standing but I have had many days & moments when I freely admit that I don't have the answers. 

And that I don't feel I've actually coped with it all very well.

Thankfully, we've had a great deal of support which continues to be ongoing....

and I have the best friends who listen & constantly support me.

I have though experienced moments of feeling absolutely useless & totally out of my depth.

That I've failed....

So far, I have always felt very competent & comfortable as a mother and so those feelings have been both unnerving & unsettling.

Up until now, I've always felt that I knew what I was doing....

now I'm not so sure.

Everything passes though....

Every day I learn something new.

Every day is a step forward.

Often as a parent, you just have to feel your way & hope that you are doing it right and going in the right direction.

You can't always know, there aren't any signposts and everyone's situation is different.

And when you arrive, there isn't anyone waiting there with a sign reading : 

"well done, you made all the right choices & this is exactly where you are meant to be"....

you just have to hope you did the right thing.

Parenting - and Being Grown Up - is not for the faint-hearted, that's for sure!

And so, I am going to bribe ask my children to answer the questions above....

and hope for answers that are honest/interesting/amusing/intriguing/thought-provoking

and, if I'm honest, will make me feel just a little bit better about the job I am doing right now.