When I first became a parent, I thought that nothing could be more difficult than the infant years. The sheer terror of not knowing what I was doing, the exhaustion that I knew what was coming but had no way to truly anticipate it…it was survival mode. I thought no part of this endeavor could ever be harder. I miss that foolishly optimistic young mother. My children are only 9 and 10, but though my 9-year-old skews a little younger, my 10-year-old is hurtling towards teendom at the speed of light.
