Isn't this the cutest/saddest picture? Sweet Junie was taking a bath and somehow got ahold of a razor. Of course, Jerry was RIGHT there GIVING her the bath, but this girl...she's a magician! She'll be into something in .25 seconds. I am pretty sure she just WAITS for us to look away to grab the most dangerous/messy/most valuable thing within reach.
It wasn't anything serious, but there was lots of blood and tears.
Poor Jerry was SO mad at himself. Kids get hurt. ALL of the time. It always makes your heart ache when your little one gets hurt, but it is ESPECIALLY painful when you feel like you could have prevented it. I almost felt worse for him than I did her...because I know exactly how that feels.
Here's the thing. You'll never be able to prevent all of the hurts.
There are going to be SO many...it kills me to think of them, and really, it's best not to. However we all know when you live life fully.. when you really dig in and enjoy the ride, there are bound to be painful situations along the way, both physical and emotional. There's absolutely NO way that we, as parents, can keep them from getting hurt. It's just going to happen, and when it does, we will hurt too...maybe even MORE than they do. Isn't that crazy?
It's not our job as parents to make sure our kids never get hurt. Yes, of course, it is our duty to do our VERY BEST to keep them safe and teach them how to navigate the dangers of the world, and, of course, prevent any injury we see coming (duh) but it IS our job to be the ones that provide comfort when they DO get hurt. From the Mickey Mouse bandages of toddlerhood to the scraped knees of childhood to the broken hearts of adolescence to the regretful moments of young adulthood to the rollercoaster of life that is being a grown up.
Though I hope our children will breeze through life with minimal pain, I also realize that through pain we learn. We learn that razors are sharp, and stoves are hot. We learn to choose people who uplift us after someone tears us down. We learn that kindness is key, and when we hurt others with our words, sometimes it ends up hurting us too. We learn that taking the easy way out isn't always the best way. Sometimes we learn that tragedy can bring hope.
It's often the painful lessons in life that create the most impact and shape us into who we are.
So as parents, forgive yourself if your precious one gets hurt. It's not your fault, and it's going to happen again. Arm yourself with a never ending supply of kisses, ice cream and special band aids when they're little, tissues and a listening, non judgmental ear when they're big, and giant, strong hugs that only a parent can give always.
0 comments:
Post a Comment