i try, but sometimes, not hard enough. i know it and feel guilty about it. i should be more caring, more attentive, more friendly. jan deserves more hugs, more time, more laughter. he needs to be read to, played with, and talked to more often.

being busy, being tired, those are not valid excuses. isn’t her child a mother’s foremost priority?

but if there’s one crucial thing i know i did right, it’s choosing my child(ren)’s father.

in every sense of the word, hubby’s as much of a parent to jan as i have been, perhaps even more. he has changed diapers and rocked jan to sleep almost as many times as i did. he has been there during jan’s crucial well-baby check-ups, and did research on all medications and immunizations jan ever received. he pushed jan’s buggy and wore the sling for far more kilometers than i ever did. it took him 3 sessions to teach jan to ride the bike (never with support wheels!). he is totally involved about jan’s schooling, and has attended all parent meetings. he’s read bedtime stories and tinkered with legos and playmobils with jan more than i’ve ever had. nowadays, his morning routine involves packing jan’s breakfast (jan insists on “real” bread for breakfast), ironing his uniform, and bringing him to school, not leaving until jan has had his breakfast.

i’m not a perfect parent. far, far from it. but i thank my lucky stars i have a parenting partner that more than makes up for it. i may be his better half, but he is, hands down, the better parent.

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This entry was posted on Monday, March 3rd, 2008 at and is filed under family, jan-i-mania, i, me, and myself. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.