PARENTING December 1, 2008 Issue

TAKING IT ALL TO MY PARENT

EVELYN HORN

WHEN I FIRST became a single parent some years back, I found myself falling into one of two traps: either believing I was solely responsible for the welfare of my children and that everything rested on my shoulders, or thinking I was managing quite well on my own and didn't need anyone's help.

Growing up in the Christian Science Sunday School, I'd been taught that God was both my Father and Mother, but in the busyness of raising my two daughters, I lost sight of that for a while. There were many times when I yearned to be "parented" myself. To me, that meant having someone who would care for, watch over, guide, and nurture me.

An experience I had when my children were toddlers proved the depth of the kind of parenting I was yearning to consistently express and feel in my life.