The art of life is not an exact science
Throughout my life there has been numerous times that I was fully convinced that I grasp a concept, only to realize later on - normally only after a few years has added a fraction of wisdom as well as a generous helping of experience: that the extent of my understanding only stretched as far as my acknowledgement of the fact.
And a prime example of this in my life, is something that has been said and noted by many throughout my life, and I have no doubt that the majority reading this, has heard this at least once throughout the course of their own lives, if not word for word, then on a conceptual basis:
"Once you have children, your entire life changes"
lets just take a few seconds to allow the irony to settle in
Because regardless oh how many times you have heard this before having children of your own, as well as how clearly you thought you might have grasped the complete essence of that statement; its entire conceptual meaning as well as your perceived perception thereof changes the moment that you become a parent.
It is also at that very moment that you embark on your ongoing journey of parenthood.
And what a enlightening experience it is!
One of the most wonderful aspects of parenting, in my personal opinion is the fact that you get to learn and grow within yourself while you teach and guide. The way I see it, the end game you are working towards as a parent is to try raise an individual to the point of adulthood, that you as an adult would gladly want to spend time with, a person that makes you proud, not necessarily by their accomplishments as such but by the way that they take pride in their own conduct. And most importantly you want to raise a person who has grown into a better person today than the person that you yourself was yesterday.
The tricky part here is that there is no calculated formulation to parenting, no instruction manuals or 'how to' guides. It all boils down to trail and error as well as unconditional persistence of loving parenting, and when all is said and done, you reach a point where you have to sit back and allow your child to expand and explore their own horizons as a young adult, while you put faith into all that you have taught them as well as everything that you have watched them learn without you, and hope that you have given them everything that they need in order to make informed and constructive life decisions, while at the same time realizing that as their parent, now less of an active participant in their lives, you will always be their parent and as such you will always be needed to be there to catch them should they falter or fail as well as to pick up the pieces when needed even if they were scattered due to decisions you did not necessarily agree with.