It’s always interesting to reflect back on the past year, to review the most significant moments, to pay special attention to those things you might have changed and to marvel at how quickly it all went by. Some of us might get stuck in the past, while others find it easier to move on.
I would have to say that without a doubt, the year 2012 was the most difficult for me as a parent. Our family went through a troubling situation with our teen daughter that lasted several months. All it took was one boy to enter the picture and our world was turned upside down.
I also experienced my firstborn son leaving the nest. Adding to the challenge of this, it was to join the Air Force, leaving his home state of Wisconsin to live in Texas.
You might be surprised to learn that I wouldn’t have changed either circumstance. Had it not been for the challenges we dealt with, my daughter wouldn’t have learned the lessons she did—even though it had to be done the hard way. And we might not be as close today as we are, had the whole thing not happened.
And as painful as it was to see my son leave, as difficult as it is to know we could go the entire year of 2013 without seeing him, I wouldn’t change this situation either. He is doing what he loves to do and I am proud of his willingness to serve our country.
You see, it’s those very challenges in life that make or break us. If everything was always easy, we wouldn’t know how to treasure each moment we have. We would take it all for granted.
Our children wouldn’t understand that life has its good and bad moments; it comes with joy and pain. But this is life. This is the harsh reality and its one we all need to understand and accept.
I’m not leaving 2012 with regrets. I’m leaving it with a better understanding of who I am and what I need to do as a parent. I don’t know what 2013 will bring. But I am ready to embrace it—the good, the bad and the ugly.