The Toughest Job

Chances are if you're reading this blog you're a parent of small children, or have been one, or at least know a parent or small child very well. So it will come as no surprise to hear that the challenge of this job really shouldn't be underestimated.

A good time for this fact to hit home is when you have an extended period of time in charge of that child -- for example, when his daycare is closed for a week -- and when your child is a little out of sorts -- say, he has a cold, and has missed or had a couple of recent naps truncated, so he's behind on sleep. And let's say he's a little cranky, and you're a little behind on sleep yourself, and before you know it it's a near perfect storm of the challenges of being the parent of a toddler. And that's my week.

We went up to Vermont last week to visit Jack's grandparents, and because it's a strange place for Jack, he tends to not get as much sleep as would be ideal. Then his daycare was closed this week, but Mommy had to go to work, so Daddy was kind of on his own during the days -- and Jack had a cold.

Now I'm not going to make this out to be worse than it was. (Even though I already used the term perfect storm, but really, that's probably just because I always wanted to use it. Things could be worse.) Jack's grandpa came over this morning to help out, and Jack has had good naps the past couple of days, enabling Daddy to get some work done and loll on the couch a little bit. But when he's been awake, he's been kind of cranky, to the extent of where he says "Draw a circle Daddy," and when I draw it, he whines, "NOOOOOO...not that way....Over there...NOOOOOO.....not over there....." You get the idea. It was even worse when I opened up a set of blocks, and I had to try to read his mind as to what kind of tower he wanted help building: "NOOOOO....not THAT kind of tower....Make one of Mommy's towers....NOOOOONOT THAT TOWERRRRRR...."

Anyway, it's been a week. And the great thing about it is you realize, every once in a while, that being a parent is even tougher than most people realize, tougher than you realize, tougher than it looks from the outside. One library meltdown (we had one of those on Tuesday; Jack, not me) is all it takes to drive home the point that kids are tough, and being a parent is tough, and even though it's all worth it -- and it is, moreso than I ever thought possible -- it's an accomplishment to be good at it most days, let alone all the time. It really is a tough job.

Of course, it is all worth it, especially when Jack gets past the cranky phase into the half-asleep and lovable phase, and starts grinning and giggling at you with half asleep eyes and laughing merrily at silly games like peek-a-boo. That's when you realize that some people have tough jobs that may not be as tough, but they don't have anywhere near the rewards, either.