The Secret Society of Parents

Being a parent makes me often think about my own parents, but now from a completely different perspective. Most days, I can't quite believe that I am a parent to not one, but two children. Somehow I just don't seem old enough, smart enough, mature enough, together enough, and the list goes on (and on, depending on the day). In my mind, I am still a kid, so how can I have two kids of my own? I've often wondered if my own parents felt this way while raising me and my siblings. I also wonder if my own parents had all those "I don't want the kids to see this" moments like I have. For instance, I will sneak an extra cookie (or two) when Jack isn't looking. Were my parents sneaking dessert when I wasn't looking? Or many nights after Jack goes to bed, Troy and I will just laugh at some of the funny things he says and does. Were my siblings and I a source of entertainment for our parents, who were just waiting for us to go to bed so they could bust out laughing? How about the times when I pretend to be completely clueless with Jack, like having no idea how the picture he colored got into the garbage can or what happened to other half of his peanutbutter cup. Were my own parents really never clueless and fooling me all along? Maybe parenthood is like a seret society you are inducted into once you have a child, where all the secrets are revealed. Like parents really don't know everything and have faults (some of us have many!). I guess Jack and Brett will just have to wait to discover where all the cookies went...