Well it’s Day 2 of our official “Potty Training Boot Camp” (unofficially Day 4). Avery did pretty well yesterday. She had a couple accidents but she used the potty at least 10 times and even did number 2 once which is awesome because a lot of toddlers hold off on that part of the potty training. She loves wearing underwear and it’s really cool to see how empowered she feels by taking control of this area of her life. I am so proud of her and yet suddenly I am having one of those moments where I realize how fast she is growing up and I want to weep. Maybe it’s the pregnancy hormones, but I suspect I would feel much the same even I wasn’t pregnant.

Have you ever had a moment where you say or do something and suddenly it is as though one of your parents has just taken over your body? I find these instances have become more frequent since I have become a parent. For me it’s becoming a good thing.

I think most people go through a stage at some point where they start to really critically examine their parents. Everyone has to come to grips with the ways their parents have disappointed them and not been who we hoped they would be. I have found this process has been highlighted in my own parenting as I see myself falling short of my own expectations.

There was a time in my life when I came to fully realize the ways in which my parents had not been who I wanted them to be and I really grieved this loss intensely. But my parents are and were WONDERFUL, AMAZING PARENTS who raised me with so much freedom, and yet a firm grip on reality and reliable discipline. (Mom and Dad, if you are reading this I THINK YOU DID A FANTASTIC JOB!!!) But the truth is that they were and are not perfect. And deep down I believe we all want, and even expect our parents to be perfect.

As I have grown up I have come to appreciate that my parents have their own issues from their personal histories. Experiences and moments that I will never know or understand affect their choices, reactions and judgment. I have learned that I need to forgive them for not being perfect and allow them the same grace I hope my children will give me when I disappoint them.

There was a time, in my teenage naievete, when turning out like my parents was my biggest nightmare. But I am now at the point where I would be thrilled if I could be as successful at parenting as they were. I would now consider it a compliment of the highest order, to be told that I am just like them. It’s funny how your perspective changes.