i might need a mouth guard....

it's so easy

to turn your head and look the other way

~

unless you're a parent

~

when you're a parent

everything is right in front of you

constantly

and

you do the best with the circumstances you've been given

and

you question what you do

and

what you say

and

of course how you say it and how often you say it and the tone of voice you use when you say it

~

you wander the aisles at the bookstore

aimlessly

reading titles

hoping to find one that fits

but realizing

that even the one titled

"parenting for idiots"

won't work

~

so you watch dr. phil

thinking he might have the answers

but

you switch the channel half way through

realizing that today it's all about a man who faked his own death

~

so back to the drawing board

you crawl

and

your girlfriend reminds you that all you can do

~that the only power you have~

is to love

~

that everything parenting brings to the table

can and will hurt at some point

and

anger will rise and want to lift you like a balloon while frustration tastes like dirt in your mouth

but

that all you can do

is love

~~

so we love

~with our teeth clenched~

{she never said we couldn't clench our teeth}

because

that's what parents do

*