Being a Parent is Hard ... "Duh!"

How many times a week to I hear that phrase in my head, "Being a parent is hard!" I suppose it's not great self-talk, but it's true, and so I say it's okay to acknowledge it. I usually end the phrase in my head with "...but I can do it." or "...but God's gonna get me through it."  or "...so it's okay to make mistakes sometimes." or "...so it's okay to need a break!" or ..."but it's all worth it." And I know I'm not alone in this, because I read that very statement on facebook statuses regularly. We want validation that we're not crazy, and so we type it in that box at the top of our newsfeed with frustration, press share with a sigh, and hope someone comments to share in our misery. (We really don't want to hear from our older friends who aren't in the throws of parenthood at the moment. We know the frustration will pass. We know our children are worth it. But we just want to vent and be heard, so we can maybe move along.) Being a parent is hard! I truly believe that if a parent doesn't have that thought every once in a while, they either aren't focusing on being a parent to their children, or they're delusional. ... (come to think of it, some days it might be nice to be delusional.) :)