Parenting is a Marathon not a Sprint

Hello to all of my wonderful blog readers! My name is Jill and I am an Early Childhood Special Education Teacher and the originator of Helpful Parenting Solutions.

Here we are at the beginning of another school year! This year I will be celebrating my twenty-third year in education! Honestly, it doesn't feel that long ago that I was a scared young woman taking over a first grade classroom in the middle of the school year. Twenty-three years ago, I was finished with college, engaged and ready to take on the world (or so I thought). What I didn't realize then was a phrase that my father spoke frequently, "The days are long, but the years are short!" At that time, a year seemed like forever!

As I was sitting in a meeting last week, it hit me (literally like a ton of bricks), my first classroom of students are now thirty years old. Many are college graduates, many working in various fields, many married, and many with children of their own. How could this be? Weren't they just eight year olds learning double-digit addition and subtraction? For some reason, I began to experience all of the feels while at the same time removing myself from the aging process. I always thought that being a teacher would be my most important contribution to this world, but upon entering this year, I am reevaluating my thought process.

You see, I now find myself as a Mother and Bonus Mother to three extraordinary teenage human beings and I have discovered that what my Dad said holds the utmost truth. The days are long, and the years are incredibly short. This year my bonus daughter began her Senior year of High School. I look around my house and things are different. I am realizing that while being a teacher is an important contribution, being a parent trumps all of that! I have found myself in puddles of my own tears, as my children are growing up and just a short time away from entering adulthood. I begin questioning myself, "Did I do enough teaching and guiding?", "Are my children ready to brave the changes ahead of them?", "Will they still need me even if they are away?"

I have been asked many times what it is like to raise three teenagers and my answer is usually the same. It is similar to raising young children, the only difference is that they have more language. The truth of the matter is that all children, no matter what age, need the same three things:

1. Connection

2. Safety

3. Direct Teaching

I am so excited about the opportunity to take this journey with you! Please consider returning next week as I will discuss each of the components above in more detail!

Wishing you well,

Jill