I’ve been watching the show Your Honor lately, and I can’t stop thinking about the lengths a parent will go to protect their child.
On the show, Judge Michael Desiato starts out as a man
defined by his principles — a good judge committed to justice and honoring the law. But as the story unfolds, we see
those same ideals slowly fall apart as he faces impossible choices to keep his child
safe. His sinking down to the bottom is heartbreaking showing you how far a parent might fall to
protect their child.
Parenting is hard , period. And
though every parent rides this emotional rollercoaster, there can never be
enough warnings to truly prepare you.
Once you choose this journey, that’s it. Once you become a
parent, there’s no going back — you’re a parent until your last breath, no
matter how old your children get.
No matter how many books you read, how many classes you
attend, or how many stories you hear, nothing truly prepares you for what’s
ahead.
It's even more hard these days as there is no village; to guide you, to support you.
People often say, “It gets easier.” But does it,
though?
If you thought sleepless nights with infants were hard, just wait.
Wait until they grow into teenagers — into baby adults trying to find
their place in a world you can’t fully protect them from. Wait until they get
behind the wheel for the first time. Wait until they wander into the wrong
crowd. Wait until your mind spins with all the things that could go wrong.
Nothing prepares you for that stage.
All the exhaustion you felt when they were babies suddenly
feels like pure joy in hindsight — a simpler kind of hard you’d trade for in a
heartbeat.
And on top of it all, each child is unique. Even siblings
raised under the same roof can be worlds apart, each demanding a different
version of you.
And if you are a single mom, single parent and or parents caring for children who are physically challenged, mentally challenged, or neurodivergent — your journey carries even more strength, resilience, and love ; there are no days off for them. The worries they hold are heavier, the challenges greater, but their devotion to their children is even more fierce.
Of course, there are glimmers — moments when they hug you out of nowhere, when they open their hearts and let you in, when you glimpse the child they were and the adult they’re becoming.
But mostly? It’s endless worrying. And yet we do it anyway — because we’re
parents. And we’d go to the ends of the earth to keep them safe. Won't we??
I can not imagine doing this, being a parent by myself. My heart goes out to them who are doing this all alone. It is at times like this when one is grateful to another, as parents.
"Children are God's gift.
But that level of love can just crack you open, make you someone you thought you never would be." - from Your Honor.
My husband captured this image several years ago, no words needed to describe, always watching over.
Here is a take away question,
What has parenting taught you about the lengths you’d go
for your children? Do you or did you feel like you were prepared to be a parent? What kind of curve balls life threw at you??
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