Quietly Judging You...

I think we're in for a huge shock. As a couple that's been married for 5+ years, and who have taken time to come around to even wanting to think about kids, we've had the luxury of critiquing endless numbers of 'bad examples'. But I have a feeling that suddenly all those things we've said we'll never do, or things we said we'd always do, will be swept aside and we'll simply be running to catch up. I think it's oh-so-noble of us to try and come up with a plan, with strategies and boundaries now. I just doubt that it's, um, practical.

I think about the embarassment that parents feel. And I wonder if all parents feel that -- a sort of panicky "I'm totally out-of-control-and-over-my-head here", or whether there are those parents that just don't care about their kids' impact on those around them. (Or if there are magical, angelic kids that never reflect negatively on their parents -- I've submitted my order for one of those! [Well either that, or a bold little brat that impulsively says all the things that I self-censor. Now wouldn't that be fun!]) We will certainly be imposing more limits on our kid(s) than many we see around us. But I think there are going to be some moments where God has a hearty chuckle at our bruised pride. (If I recognise that now, does that mean the lessons don't have to be quite so hard...?)