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Amanda Lamb: Parents in waiting

I'm sure, someday, when the waiting is over, when I have large chunks of time spread before me like a buffet of endless opportunities, I will miss it and long for the emergency calls where I jump in and handle whatever the crisis of the day is at that moment.

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Amanda Lamb
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Amanda Lamb

As parents, we are always waiting — waiting to pick children up or drop them off, waiting to find out what their plans are, waiting to find out what they need from us at any given moment. We wait because, unlike adults, children are not planners, their needs are immediate and evolving minute by minute. So, we wait patiently, or not so patiently, to fulfill them.

In the occasional scenario where we cannot meet our children’s needs — a ride here, a pick-up there — they seem dumfounded that we have our own lives and cannot always accommodate their schedules. And then, if you’re like me, you feel guilty for not being able to do everything, even though you do most of the things they ask for.

The waiting part of parenting has always been one of the hardest parts for me because I am a planner. I find it difficult to begin projects or take on tasks when I know that I might be interrupted at any moment to make an emergency run somewhere to pick up items for a school project, get a dance costume altered or get pizzas for an impromptu sleepover. And while I know this flexibility comes with the job, I still struggle with it.

I’m sure, someday, when the waiting is over, when I have large chunks of time spread before me like a buffet of endless opportunities, I will miss it and long for the emergency calls where I jump in and handle whatever the crisis of the day is at that moment.

At least this is what I tell myself as I forgo another yoga class to make an unscheduled child pick-up. There’s always tomorrow, and, if not, I can always do yoga when they go to college …

Amanda is the mom of two, a reporter for WRAL-TV and the author of several books including some on motherhood. Find her here on Mondays.

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