Motherhood is not for sissies

Seriously! Motherhood is not for the faint of heart. It is more rewarding than anything in this world but have you ever noticed that the things that are rewarding require unusually difficult tasks to get to the reward, that true rewards only come after a LOT of hard work. I LOVE having kids. I can't imagine being without my kids, and I adore being with them. That isn't to say that each day isn't riddled with various battles. When they are little there are diapers to change, toddler independence to encourage and yet tame so you can accomplish something that day. I have teenagers now, things have changed a lot and yet so much is the same. I still have independence to encourage and yet tame. They want to exert their independence which is wonderful, and yet they have to learn that because EVERYONE had independence, free will, and the ability to choose that there are rules to be followed and compromises to be made, even when we don't love the rules or compromise. We are often still learning this as adults :) 
With toddlers and young kids there are many fun games to play, so much to explore and learn. With teenagers you get to have more discussions and find things you have in common. It is often some of the best times. You know the line "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..." It is the first line in Charles Dickinson's A Tale of Two Cities. It continues with "It was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness..." 
I swear he could be talking about the teenage years. I feel like that is what my teenage years were like. :) I'm sure my kids feel that way, and feel that we as parents are the difficult ones. I'm sure at times we are. After all, we are wingin' it here. There doesn't seem to be a right answer for how to do this, to help your kids move from childhood to adulthood. This transition period call teenage-hood. I'm stumbling in the dark hoping that I am headed the right direction. My kids seem to be overall happy, and we are just beginning this journey of teenage-hood. Hopefully we come through at the brink of adulthood with love in our hearts for each other, with mutual respect, and with many fun and funny memories. Sometimes I wish I could start all over and cherish the younger years more, I guess I'll just need to be mindful to do that with their whole lives, including the teenage years. Seize the day, find the good, and remember that I will miss it all when they move out eventually. 
The fact that I can look back on the older kids younger years and laugh about some of their antics is proof that eventually we see the humor in even the most frustrating situations at some point. Oscar breaking his window when he was 4, while being babysat, so we would have direct access to the backyard, Emma rubbing peanut butter all over the hardwood floors and "skating" on it. Emma cutting the bottom off my favorite dress so that it would fit her because it was so beautiful. Oscar and Emma sneaking the food coloring downstairs, mixing it with water to make "magic potion" and pouring on the carpet so that things would grow there. ;) All of this, and so much more, frustrated me so much at the time. So many messes to clean up. But it shows the way they think, their spirits, how much mischief two young children can get into. I know I'll have fun memories of them as teenagers as well. Of course there are many good memories that you don't have to wait to cherish but knowing that usually even the tough times will be cherished and laughed about eventually can help you get through them. 
So I mean it- motherhood is not for sissies, and every mother I know is proof of that. So much stronger than they think, so much tougher and yet gentle. Here is to all the mothers out there. Remember to laugh!