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Anna Wetlesen spent her summers camping with her three daughters, all still in cloth diapers, while her Viking husband tended his lines as a Merchant Mariner. In short, Norwegians are a hearty bunch. Attempts to genetically modify my gene structure, through high doses of Jarlesburg cheese, could never make me as strong as the stories Anna recounts.
Recently, Anna responded to a question posed by her daughter that I had never even thought to ask my mother while she was alive. "Mom? Did you like being a mother?"
Recently, Anna responded to a question posed by her daughter that I had never even thought to ask my mother while she was alive. "Mom? Did you like being a mother?"
Her practical, honest and succinct Norwegian answer?
"Sometimes."
Recognizing how often I reflected back on that response indicated that there was still a sequence of reconciliation occurring within me that put my current state of motherhood more into alignment with reality. Light has been shone on the disparity between expectation vs. reality. Seeing things as they are as an adult and a parent and not how I think they should be from the dream state of childhood recollection (or Disney storyboards) has brought me greater clarity and ease.
"Sometimes" sets the stage for cautious optimism grounded in the belief that parenthood is first and foremost a responsibility. Second, that parenthood is a platform through which we, as parents, stretch and grow beyond that which we thought we were capable. Third, that parenthood is where the "sometimes" sneaks in with surprise hugs, "I love yous" in pig Latin and the gentle effervescent breaths of sleeping children. Fourth, that only after we recognize the glitter of "sometimes" can we embrace parenthood as a privilege. It's the "sometimes" that make the whole deal worthwhile. That is powerful stuff wrapped up one word that teeters on the edge of a Fjord.
"Sometimes" sets the stage for cautious optimism grounded in the belief that parenthood is first and foremost a responsibility. Second, that parenthood is a platform through which we, as parents, stretch and grow beyond that which we thought we were capable. Third, that parenthood is where the "sometimes" sneaks in with surprise hugs, "I love yous" in pig Latin and the gentle effervescent breaths of sleeping children. Fourth, that only after we recognize the glitter of "sometimes" can we embrace parenthood as a privilege. It's the "sometimes" that make the whole deal worthwhile. That is powerful stuff wrapped up one word that teeters on the edge of a Fjord.
So, my question to you, regardless of whether you are a parent is this...
What in your life needs a practical Norwegian nudge to recalibrate your expectation vs. reality? What needs to shift in order for you recognize that you have been duped into the sense of entitlement of what you believed should be always to move into a state of pragmatic gratitude, that brings into focus the glitter of "Sometimes"?
What in your life needs a practical Norwegian nudge to recalibrate your expectation vs. reality? What needs to shift in order for you recognize that you have been duped into the sense of entitlement of what you believed should be always to move into a state of pragmatic gratitude, that brings into focus the glitter of "Sometimes"?
