There are Some Things I Don't Understand

TASTIDU for short.  Your right.... I just made that up. That's okay, it's my blog and I can make up stuff if I want.

You know it seems quite ironic how this world works and how we perceive things in life.

• When we are small children we need our parents to help us with so many things that we care not able to do yet.
• When we get older we are stubborn and want to 'do it ourselves' until finally we get help from mom and dad.
• As teens we are invincible.  Nothing can hurt us and we know everything and our parents know nothing.
• As young adults we set out on our own to discover our own paths, often forsaking the wisdom that was shared by our parents own mistakes.
• As a young family you begin to see and feel the struggles that our parents warned us about.
• As we enter midlife the cycle returns back to the beginning and we see more clearly and understand life a bit more.

From a parent's perspective this is such a hard thing to watch and observe.  We want to be there catch them and lift them out of the grime.  But truthfully we cannot.  We cannot because that grime is what allows them to grow, allows them to understand life on their own, allows them to gain strength, allows them to obtain perspective and yes....causes them pain.  It is the burning of the hand on the stove lesson.  If they don't experience the heat, they wont truly understand the pain. As a parent it hurts us more......yep, we heard that from our dads just before he gave us the swat, "This will hurt me more than it does you".  Yeah, right dad! Your the one holding the paddle....what going to hurt you? The kickback on that wooden paddle in your hand? We just don't understand at that young age that the HURT we feel as parents is WATCHING you make mistakes that we couldn't prevent you from learning the hard way.

So what have I learned as I approach the age of 46 with kids (young adults) from 25 to 17? I have learned a lot.  Learned that I probably made huge mistakes as I raised my kids, learned that I never really understood what I needed to do as a DAD.  Never found that 'operational manual' that was needed for each kid as they are ALL different. Learned that each day provides opportunities for you to fail or succeed. After 46 years.....I really still don't understand anything.

The only thing I DO know is I love my kids and pray for them each day. That is the only thing I can do. Be safe my friends.