Stress is a given when it comes to parenthood. I can’t elaborate enough on how stressful being a parent is. Getting to work on time to contribute and/or provide for your household, getting your child to school on time, making sure your child is as happy as possible at any given moment, discipline, education, making sure your child knows how much you love and appreciate him or her…….there is a million and one things to stress over when it comes to being “that person.” For me, and I think most parents would agree with me, I stress the most when it comes the health and safety of my babies.

Prior to even having children, I was frightened of having kids because I never wanted to deal with the pain, let alone the thought of something bad happening to my kids. I had to remind myself that I had to think positive thoughts and to try and put the worry wart on the back burner and save it for when it was necessary to use. I knew that worrying about things that weren’t at hand would only hold me back from happiness. Adopting my nieces and giving birth to three babies, only made the worry wart grow bigger. I get mad at the way my mind operates, maybe it’s just me, maybe it’s just a natural thought for most parents, but I feel that because I have five kids, my odds for something bad happening are higher. I know that thinking this way isn’t right and that I need to just enjoy TODAY, and not worry about what COULD POSSIBLY go wrong tomorrow.

This world is full of beauty, good people, and miraculous things happen everyday. It saddens me though that we rarely hear of the great things that go on in the world; we are constantly faced with everything that goes wrong in everyday life. Naturally, our mind focuses on what bad may lay ahead, opposed to the beautiful things that happen to us on a day to day basis. This is almost an innate human habit, almost as if we are wired or programmed to dwell on the bad. With that said, we parents have to keep in mind that bad is out there, no matter how much good there is! Children get kidnapped, an illness can happen to anyone, kids get bullied, they go through life with peer pressure all around them, people of all ages can experience depression, the world is full of reckless drivers…… I mean, the list can truly go on and on. These are all valid reasons to stress over when it comes to our children.

So how do we tune down the stress of being a parent and enjoy today for today with our babies? I wish I had all of the answers to that, I wish there was some soul, mind altering goodness of some sort out there that we could simply touch that would alleviate the mounds of stress that comes with being a parent, but truth be told, there just isn’t. We have to find ways that comfort us as individuals, ways that allow us to enjoy our children to the fullest, worry free but with the knowledge that bad things COULD happen. As parents, we have to find that balance between happiness and the things and thoughts that trouble us. We have to find a way to put happiness over everything else. If there’s nothing you can do to fix something, then stressing over it will not be a solution, but actually only make things worse. I know, much easier said than done; I will be the first to admit that I don’t always live by this.

Currently, my youngest daughter has a knot on her neck, a bigger than usual knot; a knot that even has her physician wanting her to be seen by a specialist. Naturally, me being me, I went straight to googling; this is always an awful idea parents, or so I have been told numerous of times in the past. My husband, as well as doctors and other adults, tell me that the internet is the enemy when it comes to self-diagnosis. In my head, I am thinking I would rather collect any and all knowledge as much as possible than not having a clue at all. Here is a prime example of me not taking my own advice on stressing over something that I have zero control over at the moment. I have literally been losing sleep over the thought of something being wrong with my daughter, instead of trying to be optimistic and positive with the situation. The waiting game and not knowing is always the worst.

Where am I going with all of this? Why did I get the sudden urge to share my perspective on stress as a parent? It’s just an assumption, but my guess is that I am not the only mother that stresses over these everyday things, when it comes to our children. I like to tell myself that I am not alone when it comes to these thoughts. That I am not as crazy as I think I am when I get inside my head. That there are other parents just like me. Do I think that I may stress a bit more than the average… . (what’s an average parent……) Sure, I think I tend to overthink things more than I should, but I will say that I do try and find that balance. I have found that my husband seems to be a great source to go when it comes to finding that balance. He reminds me to just breath and to enjoy them as much as I possibly can. That stressing and constantly thinking that something is wrong only interferes with enjoying them, and he’s absolutely right!!! If you are anything like me, I completely understand where you are coming from-100 percent!!! But at the same time, please keep in my what my husband shares with me, “ENJOY THEM TO THE FULLEST!!” Stressing interferes with happiness, and children can pick up on this. Also, can you imagine if one of these days, you were right and something did go wrong; that when looking back, you couldn’t recollect on all of the good memories that you had with them because at the time you were to caught up in worrying about all of the things that could go wrong. It’s a tough pill to swallow, I know. All things to think about parents; okay, that’s enough of me spilling my thoughts onto you. Keep your thoughts, feelings, and stress levels as pretty to the T as possible!!!