Giving New Meaning to Parenting

When my husband and I were heading out the door for our 10th Wedding Anniversary trip my daughter Pack Rat asked how come we were going without her and her sister. The only response I could come up with is, “Mommy and Daddy need some time to spend alone. We have been married for 10 years and we are taking a short vacation to celebrate.” I’m guessing this was lost on my 4 1/2 year old.

The time away wasn’t lost on me, though. While I missed my girls, I really enjoyed the few days away with my husband. I didn’t stress too much about what they were doing or how they were doing. I figured if anything was wrong we would have been contacted. We did, however, call to check in and to say “hello” which was good for all of us, even my husband.

Our 10 year anniversary is quite a milestone. Just over 5 years ago we contemplated divorce because we couldn’t agree how (or if) to build our family since we were dealt the infertility card. Here we are, though, very happy today and grateful we stuck it out through the tough times. I truly cannot imagine my life with anyone else!

So a few things I gleaned over the 3 day weekend:

1. A happy family really does start with happy parents. When the parents are happy the kids respond accordingly, well, most of the time.
2. Giving others, such as the grandparents, time alone with the grandchildren is a good idea. Not only does it allow the grandparents an opportunity to interact with the grandkids without the watchful eye of the parents, it offers them the chance to see what their grandkids are really like too.
3. Having date night or short excursions helps bring romance back into the relationship. You remember why you married each other in the first place.
4. While grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles are important people in a child’s life; a child’s love for mom and dad is unconditional (at least at 4 1/2 years old).

What would you add to this list?

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by Kelly Damron

Photo graciously provided by Freewill Photography+, through a Creative Commons license, some rights reserved