Omg, today has been a long day for this momma, and my frustrations have hit the fan! My 4 year old is giving me a run for my money and my nerves. Becoming a parent has been one of the most rewarding and meaningful things in my life, but it has also become one of my most frustrating task to conquer. Which leads me to the question, Do we ever conquer parenthood? Is there anyone in this world who felt they knew how to handle all the demanding,joyful,crazy task of parenthood? I have yet to encounter such an individual.

I became a parent at the ripe age of 19 years old, right after I joined the Air Force and got married. Getting pregnant at such an early age was a surprise to say the least. My husband and I had just joined the military and all I was thinking about was partying and tasting the Independence of life. So when I got the phone call after getting blood taken for another medical issue I was shocked. Here is how the conversation between the nurse and I went:

ME: Hello

Nurse: Hello, Mrs. Mcknight How are you?

me: Fine

Nurse: Well, I wanted to call you about your test results for XYZ

Me: Oh Is everything alright?

Nurse: Yea, but did you know you are pregnant?

Me:_______________________________________________

Nurse:Hello

Me: Huh?

Me: Pregnant

Me:Are you sure?

Me: (laughing) Are you serious?

Nurse: Yes, your hcg results came back positive

ME: What is Hcg results?

Nurse: The pregnancy hormone

Me: Oh my FFFFFFFFFF!

Nurse: Well, we will schedule you a check up and send for a profile

Me: Ok, thanks and bye!

Me: Blank Stare!

This was amazing. All kinds of thoughts ran through my mind, what am I going to do, my life is ruined, this can’t be true, how did this happen(of course I know how babies are made),Whoa! I then called to tell my husband whom thought I was playing a joke, and from then the joys of pregnancy began!

It took me a while to come to terms with parenting,three years to be exact and my daughter is now 4. I am not saying I have perfected being a parent, but that I now finally realize how impacting my role is in my child’s life. I have to teach her, discipline her,keep her away from strangers, instill values in her, and sometime I just don’t know what to do! Those are the times when I wish there was a parent rule book or guideline to go by.

All in all I think most of us strive to be the parents we can be (no rule book included), there are sometimes situations that arise where we are lost, and there are times when we make bad decisions as parents. So, as I sit here pregnant with my second (a girl again!) I now realize parenting is something we take day-to-day. I have 4 years of experience to go off of for the next one, and some techniques will change while others will stay put. As long as we give our best efforts, we can never fail as a parent.

So bless all the wonderful mommies and daddies out there for parenting without a rule book!