The Parenting Mirror

I am the Lorax. I speak for the Trees.  –Dr. Seuss, The Lorax.

A little over a year ago, I started this blog. 

I’m not sure what I envisioned when I hit publish on my first post.

Of course, like every mommy blogger, I wanted to document my family’s journey.

But it was more than that.

I think I was looking for an outlet, a place to express myself creatively.

I’ve always loved to write, to ride the rise and flow of words as they paint my story.

To play with structure and rhythm and syntax.

To connect with other people through shared experiences and emotions.

But I didn’t have any grand plans for this space.

And I still don’t.

Yes, I’d love to publish a novel or memoir.

Someday.

But, today, my hands are full.

With an almost-three year old and a baby and a part-time job, I’m operating at capacity.

My cup runneth over.

But the writer in me won’t be silent.

The storyteller can’t hold her tongue.

Three or four or five times a week, depending on what’s going on in my life, I bare some piece of my heart in this, my special place.

To you, my readers.

To my husband and our family and our friends.

To my children, when they are old enough to understand. When they are ready.

So for whom do I speak?

I speak for the parents.

Every person who undertakes this journey to fully and passionately and thoughtfully raise children.

You may not agree with everything I do, with every mistake or choice I make.

You may not have shared every experience or felt every emotion.

Your path may be different—you may have struggled with infertility, or adopted your children, or chosen not to breastfeed.

You may be a mom or a dad.

Your children may be young or grown.

You may read these stories today or, in the case of my children, thirty years from now.

But I hope that when you read my words, you feel something.

That you see some piece of you or your family.

That you remember some destination on your path.

Or anticipate what’s around the bend.

Or stop to admire your view.

Wherever you may be.

I want to hold a mirror up to this experience.

Because this parenting thing is not for the faint of heart.

It is dirty and scary and intense.

It is also rewarding and fulfilling and amazing.

It is a full contact sport and a life-changing experience.

And we, all of us, are in it together.

My wonderful blogging friends Nicole and Galit, both of whom I am thrilled to say I have spent time with in person, are hosting a Lorax-based link-up this week, asking each of us to share for whom we speak. Because we all speak for something. Or we should.