There was a time, when I was a young father, that I was so enjoying my children that I thought, “This is the best age! I wish they could stay this age forever.” It was the “cute” stage where they were still learning to pronounce their words correctly. For example, on a drive through the back roads of Chino they might say, “What’s it ‘mell like, Daddy?” or “Can we watch Mag-a-num PI when we get home?” But time does not stand still….
And then they reached the “questioning” age. This is such a great time for parents because then you get to make up all these creative answers and see what you can get away with. “Why is the sky blue, Daddy?” “It’s because there’s this big blue ball around our world, like the ball your hamster runs around in.” I don’t know about your children, but mine never accepted my first answers. “Come on, Daddy, what’s the real reason?” And then I would remember my previous thought when they were younger and I’d think to myself, “No, this is the best age! I wish they could stay this age forever.”
The thought of a child becoming a teenager sometimes strikes fear in the heart of a parent. But when we reached that point, I so enjoyed the time we spent together. I saw my children struggling to become the independent people we were raising them to be. And truly, at this point, I once again thought to myself, “No, this is the best age!”
And now my children are adults and we relate to each other on a totally different level. They have developed their own understanding of the world around them. They have taken ownership of their lives. They have made their Faith their own.
And once again I find myself thinking, “No, this is the best age!”
… Tom
I remember when I was growing up I never thought I would be as old as I am now! 24 is not old but when you are 10 or 11 it seams like an eternity away. Now that I am 24 I can’t really remember what it was like to be 10 or 11 which is a sad thought for me.
Reading this makes me wonder how my parents view me through out my life. I wonder if they felt the same way you did or if they always were waiting for me to grow up and be an adult so that they could connect with me on the level they can now.
By the way I must say here that I really don’t feel like an “adult”. It’s not because I still live at home, I just don’t think I have the mindset of an “adult”. I don’t know that I ever will….and I am ok with that!
Well, today is my 32nd birthday, and what I am discovering is how much less you begin to care about how old you yourself are getting and more attention on how old your kids are. Im very excited to say “Josie is 4!” or ” Kaylen is almost 2″.
I am finding great Joy in being a father and provider for my family. It gives me new insight on how my father and mother must have felt when I was growing up and they would say “Im so proud of you”. It also gives me a profound understanding of our realationship with God, and the kind of unconditional love that He feels for us. Im so glad that we worship a God like that.
Happy Birthday, Eric! It is amazing how much we learn about being a child once we become a parent.
As a mother of 4, with 2 “adult” children, one almost “adult” and one just hitting the teen years, I also find myself thinking “this is the best age.” It’s interesting to me that although parenting has been very little like I thought it would be when I started out, it is better than what I imagined. It is certainly much more difficult – but then, most things in life that have value seem to have difficulties as well. I have found parenting to be a two way street – my children are many times my teachers. How often God uses them to get my attention. I am grateful.