Friday’s Rant from the SoapBox in MY Living Room – I will not love every parenting moment just because you tell me to…

I posted this status on Facebook this week. We have had a particularly tough few weeks, with my boy not sleeping that well, and also his behavior has been a bit harder to manage. He is tired, it has been a long 1/2 of term, and he gets like this. We are all tired and feeling the strain. It was a particularly bad morning as you can see below…

“We’ve been up since 6am, had a meltdown over pocket money, getting dressed, breakfast choices, and several things I’ve not had capacity to try and interpret. I’m hiding in the bathroom, clutching my coffee (because hot water & lemon or some horribly healthy herbal tea just doesn’t have the same kick ass effect, I’m afraid) trying to remind myself to enjoy every moment of parenting and not to forget they’ll leave home one day and I’ll miss this… #thissarcasticpostwassponsoredbytasssimo #lackofsleepmakesmeverycranky”

I got a fair number of “yes, us too, lets have more coffee!” Type responses from a few of my fellow exhausted parents, who are amazing parents but who I know are also finding things a bit challenging.

I try to be positive on Facebook, or at least most of the time, because who wants to see another whinge about lack of sleep when you can admire someone’s lunch, baby photos, cute kittens or wedding albums instead, but occasionally I feel the need to break out the honest, reality based parenting post.

I find the annoying, smug, guilt tripping  telling me to “enjoy all the moments of parenting, even the bad ones, because one day you won’t have them” and “remember you are #soblessed because your kids might not sleep but parenting is just amazing” posts extremely irritating at the best of times, and have seen a renewed rash of them this past few weeks, and as I opened my Facebook (whilst sat in the bathroom, hiding from my little angels) another one hit my feed.

You know what? I adore my kids. I would literally give my life for them, I am proud of them, I care for them, I parent them. We have some amazing times, and most of the time, the good far outweighs the bad. but sometimes there are some really stretching, hard parenting moments and being told that I am blessed and I should relish in them, because hey, some day they will leave home and I will miss them is just stupid. Of course I will miss them, of course I will be sad when one day they are all grown up and don’t need me to come into the bathroom to get the toilet roll that apparently was one foot too far to reach, or be shouted at because apparently I buttered the toast wrong. or when I have been awake every two hours and up for the day with a cranky child, and said child is really not cooperating when he needs to be dressed and ready for school, or when I find poo on MY bath towel and I know it isn’t mine but that does not mean I have to enjoy them.

I cannot skip around singing to myself about how blessed I am all the time. Sometimes there are moments where parenting makes me want to cry, and not tears of joy. That’s ok. It’s reality and normal. I don’t have to relish them, or guilt trip myself because I want to run away to the local Travel Lodge for a decent night’s sleep and to be alone in a clean bathroom for more than 5 minutes. I know all you people out there posting these well meaning, remind us knackered mums and dads out there how lucky we are posts to try and inspire and help us, but really, they are just a load of drivel and they don’t help. So stop. It doesn’t make me feel better when I am night 5 of being woken more than twice, if I am lucky. I love my kids more than life itself but I do NOT have to enjoy every moment of parenting, thanks very much.

I am off to clean up my Facebook feed, if all you post is happy kitten photos and pictures of your food, you are safe… 😉

This cranky, not had enough sleep post was not sponsored by Tassimo, but frankly, it should have been.