Parenting With Purpose

It's no secret that women are waiting longer to have children. When I was just out of high school, all of my friends were having kids. It was perfectly normal to start your family at 18 or 19. I almost had the jump on everybody, as I was pregnant for a while when I was 16. That just wasn't in God's plan for me at the time. While my friends were having their babies I was going to college. After college I started having some health issues that put extending our family in the back seat. After that, we just decided we weren't ready for a while. I ended up having my first son when I was 27.

At the time, I looked at the 18 and 19 years olds and thought I had matured into someone who would make a better parent. To a certain extent I had figured out a lot of things that come with age, and I would be able to parent with purpose. I was ready. I had my own growing up done, and I could focus more on a child. It sounds like a beautiful thing. You wait until you have worked on yourself before you work on someone else. I think a lot of parents in the last decade he chosen to go this way. Life is seldom what it seems though.

When I had my second child at 33, I decided I had been very wrong. You need to have babies when you are young in order to keep up with them. I am so tired all the time. From the chasing of toddlers to making trips back and forth from practices and games. All this running after babies was intended for young people.

In the end it doesn't matter when you choose to parent. If you decide to start your family right out of high school or if you finish college or have a career first, we are all a mess. The grass is always greener, even when it comes to having kids. No matter what age you are,  love them, hold them, and teach them. Differently aged parents simply have different things to offer. No matter if your babies were accidents or if they planned for years, you are in for the ride of your life.