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I love the seasons. The green bursting forth in the spring. The warmth of summer sun with everything in full bloom and the lake or pool looking so inviting. The kaleidoscope of green, orange, red and brown of Autumn accompanied by the crisp of the air. The cold, short days of Winter with the white snowfall wrapping the earth in a blanket of fluff. Unless, of course, you live where I do and you are limited to Spring, Summer and a few days of Fall, sans the colors unless you count the oranges and lemons hanging on the trees.
I also love the seasons of parenting. The bursting forth of the newborn and for some time everything is new. The warmth of the early school years where you have successfully kept them alive for a few years and everything seems to start to bloom and for a moment you can almost relax like you are on a float in the pool Then the kaleidoscope of middle school, junior high and high school arrive with beauty and yet the winds seem to bring about a change which seems a little brisk. Then they are gone. Winter has come, it is cold, dark, the days are shorter and yet the world is covered with a beautiful blanket of fluff.
Don’t be sad. Be thankful for the seasons of parenting. Enjoy each one. Oh, some seasons will be easier or you may like them better than others, just like you do with the seasons of the calendar. This does not mean each season is not important or not beautiful in its own right, regardless of how long or difficult it might be.
Some parents find the long nights of newborn babies, diapers, bottles, regular trips to the pediatrician to be a real challenge and it is! Oh, what a beautiful spring it is though. Can you imagine skipping it?
What about those early school years and getting used to schedules and homework and parent-teacher conferences and homeroom parties. Sure they are busy days but what a season to see your child grow not just in stature but in their intellect and interests. Would you want to miss this season?
Then you hit the gorgeous but sometimes brisk Autumn when your child begins morphing into an adult in body and in attitude and decision making. This is a season many parents want to skip. They want to go where it is warmer. Back to Summer or maybe even in Spring. But don’t run from this season parents. Flock to it as the empty nesters do to the Color Trail of the Northeast. Embrace it and walk beside your child through this season like you are on a trail of leaves. If you run it could be the longest Autumn or a frost could arrive early and you will find yourself in Winter before its due time. This is a precious season. Prepare for it. Tailgate right in the middle of it. Don’t check out, Put on your grown-up flannel and enjoy it.
Ahh, the winter. Some hate it just like the “snowbirds” who flee the north annually in an effort to avoid the cold but cold can be beautiful. For some, this season can be the most difficult of parenting. This is when freewill spreads its wings and flies and you need to extend the boundaries to the point where your mouth stays closed. This can make the Winter very dark and cold and long. If you have spent the Spring, Summer and Autumn preparing for the Winter it can be not so cold, not so dark, with maybe a few blizzards but mostly a glorious blanket of incredible white making your world feel like fluff.
Enjoy the seasons of your parenting and be careful of wanting a season to change before its time because there is no going backward in time.
Which season are you in? What has been your favorite parenting seasons so far?
