Thoughtful Thursday – The Toughest Job

mom.jpgPeople often say, “You’re a lawyer? That’s such a tough job.” Or they say, “You’re a writer? That’s a tough job.”

No one ever said, “You’re a parent? That’s such a tough job!” And yet, that’s the hardest job that I do, day in and day out. I’m on call 24/7 for my daughter and she knows it. She also understands, however, that she’s an adult and there some things she needs to start handling herself before mom and dad jump into the fray. (Hard for me to do at times admittedly.)

I guess I have these thoughts running through my brain because of the latest Spears-related debacle, this time with the younger sister. It saddens me on many levels.

It also makes me thankful for the relationship my daughter and I share. For the friendship and for those times I do have to become a mom and lay down the law. Not easy, but I hope that when I law down the law and the reasons for it, my daughter is listening and understands that it’s about protecting the singlemost important thing to me — her.

Sometimes I wonder if people forget about this parent/friend thing lately. That even though being their friend is great, they are also looking for you to give them guidance about what’s right and wrong. They are looking at what you do and using that as the foundation for what they will do. Friends don’t want to say “no” sometimes, but parents must when it’s appropriate.

A tough job. The pay is low, the possibility of failure is too scary to imagine, but the reward is great.

Just some random thoughts for this holiday season.