halrunkel
Parenting brings with it a certain set of obligations. You have to provide your child with food, clothing, and shelter. You may obligate yourself to drive them to school or soccer practice. It’s not unusual to begin feeling as if you have no more choices left because you’ve over-obligated yourself. Life has become all about “them.”
Of course, you could always take the opposite approach. You could just leave your child to fend for himself while you go about your merry way. Make life all about “me” for a while.
Neither of these options seems right. One is too selfish; the other is too selfless.
Maybe it’s not supposed to be an either/or scenario. Life doesn’t have to be a zero-sum game where one of us must lose in order for the other to win.
Even when it feels like you don’t have a choice because you’ve obligated yourself to do certain things, you always have the ability to choose your attitude.
Days belong to neither you nor your child — but every day is yours and their separately and simultaneously. And each day comes with millions of choices.
“I often say now I don’t have any choice whether or not I have Parkinson’s, but surrounding that non-choice is a million other choices that I can make.” (Michael J. Fox)
Peace begins with a pause,
Hal
