LOL! I have jokingly, at times of stress with our teenagers, told my husband that it would be easier to raise dogs! At that time, I guess I was half joking.....I'm glad it's almost over now.
They need to adjust the tax bracket and give parents with teenagers, combat pay:')
Our children kept our marriage together: whoever left had to take the kids and neither of us wanted them! LOL Honestly, I can't imagine life without them and now that they are adults (23 and 24 years old), we find them to be the kind of people we want to be around.
Hang in there! It does get better .... albeit much later in their lives than when we were young. Society and ad campaigns have programmed them as being the center of their universe. The education system has assisted with their message that all youth must attend college or go through life as failures. College has projected the image that their lives will be fulfilled once they graduate with a degree. Then life slaps them with a reality check when the only job they can land in a competitive marketplace, that of bartender.
The euphoria of "me, myself and I" eventually wears off and if it doesn't, you as parents can help it along :-)
Childlessness is a kind of vaccuum, and they often make children of pets or friends or some substitute...and tend to anguish or argue over that substitute like couples who argue over their children. They get fussy about housekeeping or lawn care to the point of OCD.
The human being has quite the capacity to frustrate himself, no matter how many freedoms he seems to have.
People question getting married, having kids. Those are the two most fulfilling jobs on earth. Both require a lot of giving and forgiving, a lot of selflessness instead of self-centeredness.
I can think of many things I could have bought when I was paying for medical bills, tuition at a special school, etc. We lost two children, but one survived. He has three children. Those grandchildren are even better than the wonderful children we had.
We just spent some time with all of them. Guess what? Our son thinks having a wife and children is just great. They got married first and then had children. Radicals. She stays at home with them. Needless to say, the children adore their parents.
And us? We were away from them a few hours after our trip with them to Branson and back. When we met them at a restaurant, the grandchildren greeted us like they hadn't seen us in months. Hugs and kisses.
I have come to the conclusion that drugs are a crutch for people who cannot handle the rush of having grandchildren.
....sorry Alice,I hate to tell you, but it's NEVER over!
Once a parent always a parent, the problems are just different.
Now I'm almost ashamed I ever said that, even in jest. I want my boys to always, always know, without a shadow of a doubt, that their mother and father love them, choose them, enjoy them, and thank God for them.
Your dogs are almost through?
I didn't own a dog until after the children were all raised, and never took a dog training class until I had grandchildren. I told my husband that I wished that I had had the benefit of dog training when I was raising my children. I think it would havehelp.AndI wasn't joking either! LOL.