Mama: What’s that on the wood?
Papa: It’s just distressed and weathered.
Mama: Sometimes I feel distressed and weathered.
Parenting will do that to you, especially after a tough day.
A day that was missing one crucial piece.
A piece so vital to the healthy functioning of any family with a toddler. A piece, that when missing, wreaks psychological and emotional havoc on parents and children alike.
That missing piece? A DAMN NAP!
That simple, three-letter-missing-piece bit us in the ass, and we spent all of dinner passing her back and forth while we tried to scarf down dinner and she cried her eyes out and we didn’t know what the hell was wrong even though we knew what was wrong and there was nothing we could do about it.
In one hour she managed to put us through an emotional distressing akin to beating the crap out of some wood to give it that weathered look.
And like distressed wood, the emotional and physical weathering caused by children eventually looks beautiful on us. Those extra wrinkles add depth to our smiles and logic to our worries, the increase in grey hair highlights our acquired wisdom, and our sore backs remind us of the important load we carry each day as we strive to be better parents and partners.
Leave a Reply