My Priceless Parenting Resource

Welcome to the February Carnival of Natural Parenting: Parenting Essentials

I cannot imagine parenting without __________

Hmmm, I have been thinking on this for a long while. It certainly isn’t slings or a breast pump, useful as they might be. Boobs are very useful, but only for a couple of years. A loud voice comes in handy too at times. So do Arnica tablets and Rescue Remedy. LEGO is handy too. But I am procrastinating…

My short list, OK, my long list is:
*Books, so many wonderful books which help me to learn and grow every day
*JUNO magazine: the ideas, the community, the knowledge, the spirit
* My precious husband. How many times a day do I thank my lucky stars I am not having to parent alone.
*My dear friends, angels in cake-eating human form
*My open hearted mother and step mother and husband’s family 
*Our friendly playgroup 
*And lately the wisdom and inspiration of bloggers around the world…

How to choose?
And then I realised, I don’t have to, they share a common denominator.

I cannot imagine parenting without… other parents.
Other parents are a constant source of knowledge, inspiration, reassurance to me. Because of them I know that I am not in it alone. They might not have the answers, but they hold the key.

These are parents who I see daily, and parents I have never met but who inspire me through their words and actions. Parents who pick me up when I fall. Parents who help me to see my own mothering more clearly. Parents who share the burden of care with me, who take my children when I need a break. Parents who act as other models of what it means to be “grown up” to my kids. Parents who are our living teachers, who share themselves and their knowledge generously. Comrades at arms who understand how tired, how overwhelmed, how despondent and also how proud, how excited, how fulfilled I am.
They say it takes a village to raise a child. And it’s true. In this day and age it may not be a literal village, but a dispersed community of different aged parents, with different experiences, shared wisdom and resources. 

Co-parents everywhere, who have touched my life, or the lives of those around you, you are more precious than you can possibly imagine. Thank you for your dedication to your little ones, for being there just one more day, one more hour, one more minute when you just want to give up and run away. Thank you for trying to do things differently, for wanting to learn more. Thank you for the joy, the colour, the fun, and balloons that you bring to your children’s lives…and to those of us around you. Thank you for the hugs and kisses and getting up in the night. Thank you for the birthday parties, lent baby equipment, shared feeding tips, handcrafted gifts, hand-me-down clothes, the perfect book given at just the right moment.

Our greatest strength for ourselves and our children is each other. Let us always remember that.

