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This is what it feels like

Moms and dads often struggle with their roles as parents. Will I ever be good enough? Am I up to the challenge? How can I possibly withstand the immeasurable weight that is the blind confidence of an innocent, little child?

We see other mothers and fathers, perhaps our own, and wonder how we’ll ever be that good at it. How are those people so calm and steady? How do they always manage to pull it together when the pressure is on? How are they such a rock for their family? How do they not go crazy?

We forget, though, that they weren’t always that way.

You aren’t born an extraordinary mother or father. You become one. And the path to do so, like all the best things worth pursuing in life, is a difficult one.

So if you’re wondering if you’re on the right path, good. That means you’re on the right path.

If you find yourself falling short and losing control and struggling every day — good!

This is what it feels like to become an extraordinary mother or father. Indeed, it’s what it feels like to become anything great. There are no short cuts.

Published in Popular Essays