“We never know the love of a parent till we become parents ourselves.”~ Henry Ward Beecher

“To be a good father and mother requires that the parents defer many of their own needs and desires in favor of the needs of their children. As a consequence of this sacrifice, conscientious parents develop a nobility of character and learn to put into practice the selfless truths taught by the Savior Himself.”~ James E. Faust

As I watched my daughter take a break from her retching due to a stomach virus she contacted from who knows where I reflected deeply on my job as a parent. She woke up at a little after 5.a.m. due to this virus and had myself and her dad wide awake and running between bathroom and bedside due to her retching. When I was pregnant with our daughter, my friends who were already parents used to tell me I had no idea how my life was about to change (little did I know). I knew my life was about to change but I did not know the extent of that change or should I say the depth of that change. All I will say to expectant mothers is the change is about to get real. You can’t be told about this change, you can only experience the change. As a mother, when you have a child, you won’t be able to sleep a straight eight hours because you find yourself waking up to check on your child at various intervals during the night. I have done this since the birth of our daughter and I still continue to do this.

This is the second time (in two weeks) my daughter is getting a stomach virus and it always kicks in around 5.a.m. Before you become a parent, you have the liberty to dictate what you do, when and how you do YOU. When you become a parent, this liberty you’ve taken so much for granted evaporates. You could be dressed and getting ready to go on a date night or a couple’s weekend getaway with a babysitter ready to take over when with just one retch, one too many runny stools or a slight rise in body temperature from your little angel and you change your plans immediately. You don’t remember you’ve prepaid for your hotel room reservation and don’t care you’re about to lose that money. As a parent, you become selfless and give as much as you can and even more to see your child smile, to make sure your child is healthy, safe, and happy. To hear your child say “thank you” or “I love you.” I don’t think parenting gets easier because even when your child is a teenager or an adult, you don’t switch off your parent mood. You’re always on call, no off days. As a child gets older, the playing field changes. There are new challenges to embark on and deal with at the various stages of growth.

You worry as a parent when your child is a kid, you worry when your child is a teenager, and you worry when they become adults too. I have a friend whose son just started school. She asked why I didn’t tell her about the many sick days she was about to start taking from work. She said he comes home with one flu, virus, or germ. I laughed and welcomed her to her new dimension of motherhood. Her son was home with a nanny for the first two years of his life, hence he lived in a very controlled environment. When he started school and began interacting with other kids, he brought a part of his playmates home with him. Sometimes in the form of a pink eye, or a cold, or a stomach bug or a virus.

One thing I’m sure of is this; this parenting journey has been a lovely and selfless one. Like the Nigerian saying goes “it takes a village to raise a child.” I’m a parenting “pro” in the making. I just take each day one at a time and wonder what the dawn of a new day will reveal on this journey into parenthood.