The Heavens Sighed With Relief
On May 27th 1969 I think the great heavens above breathed a sigh of relief as I was promptly shoved into a body and sent here to Earth. Now that I’m 40 years old and have experience as a father myself, I’m pretty sure my personality in Heaven drove my family there to the verge of insanity. They couldn’t wait to have at least a tiny break from the teasing, the opinions on everything and the constant chasing of my future wife Kathilynn to get a kiss.
I’m not so sure about that last part, but I chase her all the time now, so it tends to reason.
My religion teaches me that our lives in Heaven before we came here [Earth] were very similar; with close family associations and personalities such as we have here. That’s incredible in one respect, but it gets me wondering: how much trouble was I in up there?
I have a hard time imagining my Father in Heaven running behind me while I marked up the clouds with a stray black bull nib screaming “THAT’S IT! I’M COUNTING TO FIVE YOUNG MAN!”
The more I think about it, the more I start wondering if Father in Heaven is bald. The stress I caused had to be horrible.
So I was sent to Earth and was born in Oakland California to Daniel and Rosina Buckley.
…who unfortunately had no idea what they were in for.
Good thing we’re all born [relatively] cute.
Read MoreParenting: The catch 22
It was a long but good weekend, starting off with Cesilea’s 18th birthday, charged with loud and excited youth in celebration of another semi-adult joining their tribe.
Saturday and Sunday brought some challenges in reminders of how our parenting style and system has changed over the years. It came up while observing Jami Taylor and Ethany coming out of their room several times in the late evening (when they’re supposed to be a asleep), to tattle on siblings when it was completely unnecessary.
Parents have a difficult job, just from the duty of providing and caring for the physical needs of a child. With each new life comes an unlimited string of variables no one can predict, from personality traits to when the dog might be shaved bald and painted an off pink. Now compound that stress level by having the responsibility of providing their emotional, mental and spiritual needs as well. This is no easy task.
The main catch 22 of the parenting equation, however, is the job itself.
You see, while you have your offspring under a microscope, they have one firmly fixed on you as well.
Babies are MEANT to be cute, so you totally forget what they'll be like once they're teenagers...
As young children grow into teenagers and momentarily become retarded by the ‘I know more than you could possibly understand’ gene, they fail to realize that we as parents are plagued by a no win situation. We are trying to teach and guide while trying to learn and grow ourselves. This also means we, as the parents make mistakes and errors in our judgment as we try to perfect our job.
Heaven forbid! Mistakes you say? Aye, mistakes.
Yet children, whether it be from a genetic predisposition or simple youth prejudice, rarely give us the benefit of the doubt (or leeway) they openly and boldly demand (or hope) we give them. We have the double burden of trying to teach our kids while being examples worthy of emulation, while they scrape our tired, spent bodies across their unyielding microscope looking for flaws.
When my oldest children approached me not long ago and asked why I didn’t treat them the same way I do their little siblings, all I could do was shrug my shoulders and give them hugs.
“I didn’t know how to do that when you were little. I’m sorry.”
It’s actually a profound revelation for teenagers if you can sit them down to have arational talk on this subject, but for those who simply have a house full of hormone dominant teenagers who can only see their one point of view, take heart. You’re far from alone.
It happens to every single parent on planet Earth.
Welcome to the club.
Read MoreCesilea & Faith’s Buckley Birthday Bash
It’s a wonderful thing to turn 18. It only happens once as we know, but it hit me hard when my first baby finally turned the big 18.
Not because I was sad, but because I had to be responsible for the Church building or she couldn’t have the party there…
I just don’t want to clean up after these kids!
The wonderful thing was, both my daughter and my little sister (yes, Faith is my sibling) had a wonderful turnout. The laughter was constant and the games a plenty as you can see here in the pictures. I have even provided a short clip of the noise level from the party.
Those of you who came, it was wonderful to have you here. Those who didn’t, you truly missed out.
Also…thank all of you for NOT requesting a movie, so I could go into the next room and write this post and side step the chaos.
It means a lot to this old man. =)
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