DIY Parenting

DIY, or Do It Yourself, is such a popular option when it comes to most things right now.  Meals are healthier when made from scratch, decorations are more meaningful when you can personalize them, home remodels are cheaper when you put your own sweat into the mix.  With the aid of the Internet, YouTube videos, and Pinterest, you can easily look up how to do almost anything and then try and do it yourself.  But no matter how much money can be saved or how much healthier a lifestyle it will bring, there is something bigger that is gained from doing things yourself.

By DIY, you  gain a deeper relationship and satisfaction in your handiwork.

Now that craft that you just poured your heart into becomes a prized possession to the person receiving it, and the bedroom you just repainted makes you happy every time you pass by.  It's not just a bedroom now, it's your bedroom.  Sure it takes work, but isn't that where the satisfaction is found?  Isn't that how relationships are formed?

Parenting works the same way.

When it comes to raising kids, the "result" of all the hard work of parenting isn't always immediate.  But DIY parenting is still the most rewarding and creative "job" there is.  We are building character, creating relationships, and trying to spruce up the world by raising our children to enter it.  Being a hands-on parent and engaged with your kids is hard sometimes, but that's when the work matters the most.  

I read that when you are working out, trying to build muscle and tone, the only reps that matter, the ones that will change your body, are the ones that are hardest.  So you might fly through the first ten push ups, but by eleven it gets tougher.  Those remaining push ups are the ones strengthening your body.  Easy doesn't get results.  Likewise, it's the parents who tend to sick kids in the middle of the night, comfort them when they are upset, read the same story over and over, cheer them on at their events, listen to their stories, even when it's tiring, especially when it's tiring!, who have the chance of having good relationships with their kids.  On days I am truly engaged with my babies, I feel like I can sleep so soundly, knowing I gave all I could.

I'm not writing this to say "Hey, you should be DIY parenting!"  I'm writing this to say that you are already doing it!  This is a pat on your back if only I could reach.  You are doing the hard work of raising them, and you are forming those relationships and putting in your time and energy.  You are DIY Parenting, just remember this when the days feel long and the patience is running short.  Some people may change their home by updating their family room , but you, YOU, are changing the world by raising your family.