Bumpy Road

Has parenting been a bumpy ride for you? Some days may be so stressful you’re left wondering, “Is all of this worth it?”

I believe the answer is a resounding yes, but you may not fully appreciate why until after your children are grown. The turbulence can blind you to the reward. On summer vacation one year, my boys and I signed up for a helicopter ride over Bryce Canyon in Utah. The day of our flight the helicopter was under repair, so the pilot took us up in a small Cessna he owned instead.

Unfortunately, the turbulence that day was terrible. It wasn’t long before my son Trent got sick into one of those little paper bags. Then the dominoes started to fall. Seeing his older brother get sick got Troy sick. And back and forth it went. By the end of the flight, they had used up 6 bags. It was a mess.

But afterward, they surprised me. “It was still worth it,” they said. “The ride was rough, but the scenery was amazing! We’ll never forget it.”

That’s parenting in a nutshell for some moms and dads. It’s a bumpy ride, and your stomach is tied in knots most of the time. I know it’s tough, but you gotta keep working hard to raise your kids with good values. Once they become adults and begin to mature you’ll likely look back and think, “That was rough, but it was worth it.”