For me, being a parent is giving the last bite of my sandwich to my child, who said he wasn’t hungry but later changed his mind.
It’s when your socks have a hole in the heel and in the toe, but when you go shopping you get everybody else a new pair of socks and think, “I will stitch mine.” These things represent the unconditional love that parents have for their children.
Being a parent is fun. Don’t get me wrong — there are days that I could scream because with three boys there’s a lot of horseplay, and somebody is going to end up hurt. Or when it’s time to get dressed in the morning, and one of the three does not like what he is wearing for the day because it’s “not cool” or because he thinks the pants are too long. I calmly ask my child, “Do you remember when you wore them last week and they fit perfectly?”
Being a parent also brings laughter. We have fun telling jokes, playing a card game or board game as a family, sleeping in a tent in the yard because we are “camping out,” riding bikes, and making up songs and pretending we are in a band. These are just a few of our precious moments.
Being a parent is my gift, given to me from God up above, and for that I am grateful.
Shantra Joynes is the mother of three boys, age 7and 4-year-old twins.