It was the best of times, it was the worst of times

Charles Dickens famously used that line to begin his novel A Tale of Two Cities. Although it is a great opening line for a book, I think it more perfectly describes what it's like to be a parent.

Is there anything better than becoming a parent.  Seeing your newborn child for the first time is simply magical.  The instant love that you feel for that tiny little person staring up at you is incomparable.  Though from my own experience I would not classify giving birth as "the best of times".  Giving birth is painful, uncomfortable, and scary. Personally I would classify labor as the worst of times.  It's amazing how something so horrible can produce something so wonderful.

The extremes of parenthood don't end at birth  however.   As you bring home your new baby there are so many experiences that I would easily call the "best times" of my life.  Nothing else can make a heart melt faster, or a bad day turn into a great day than seeing your baby's first real smiles.  Kierstin currently possesses those magical smiles.

The first time each of my boys learned to do something new such as crawl, walk, use the potty, etc. were moments of pure joy.

Being loved unconditionally by your children is the best feeling, and is particularly nice on those days you may be feeling low.

However there are also those not so fun moments.  There is nothing worse than seeing your child suffer.  It breaks my heart to see one of my children hurt. When my children are sick I find myself losing sleep and wishing I were sick instead.

There are also those "fun" moments you get to have as a parent that involve cleaning up messes, the worst of those messes involving bodily fluids.

Temper tantrums, fighting, and plain disobedience are enough to make me want to throw in the towel. 

A few weeks ago I had a day that I would definitely categorize as the worst of times. The morning started bad. Kierstin had a blow out on my bed that required my sheets needing to be changed.  I threw the dirty ones in the wash, but didn't put new ones on before we left for the dr. Kierstin had her two month appointment that morning and had her vaccinations.  After we got home she fell asleep and I fed the boys lunch.  Then Kierstin woke up.  By this time the effects of the shots kicked in, my usually happy, never fussy baby began to cry inconsolably.  I walked her around, singing and patting and talking and praying, doing everything I could to comfort her. Meanwhile Cash took advantage of the fact that I was preoccupied.

Cash helped himself to some chocolate chips and a pop tart then proceeded to eat them while jumping up and down on my unmade bed.  He also dumped out my clean laundry that I hadn't yet folded and spread it around the room.  At this point Kierstin had fallen asleep in my arms but would moan and cry if I even thought about setting her down. Cash ignored everything I told him to do or told me 'no'.  I was ready to cry.  My baby wasn't feeling well and my 3 year old was destroying the house and giving me attitude (really just being a 3 year old).

I was beginning to wonder why I had ever wanted children in the first place when the Lord reminded me that I really do love my kids and that parenting isn't all bad.  In the middle of the chaos Cort saw how upset I was and decided to help.  

He started by telling me sweetly to just take care of the baby and he would fold the laundry! Then he attempted to tackle the mountain of laundry that needed folding. He finally gave up when Cash kept unfolding his pile.  Instead he got Cash to lay down and watch Netflix on the iPad with him. I was overwhelmed with love for my little helper, and was proud to be his mom.

Thankfully the next day went so much smoother, but I will never forget that day. It taught me to appreciate the bad times, because they make the good times even better.

Parenting is the best of times, parenting is the worst of times, and I wouldn't trade a moment!