License for Parenting

This is totally NOT weight loss related but I had to vent so here it goes.

They should give out licenses to be a parent. Seriously. Sitting in line at the kids school this morning waiting to drop them off I saw a probably 4 year old hopping from front seat to back seat. No big deal right? I thought, oh she probably popped her car seat strap off and is just waiting to go in...not so. There was no car seat...none. This child was not tall enough for just a booster, nor did I see one in the car. Trust me I drive a tank I can see in all cars. So how long had this little girl been hopping from seat to seat? The whole way to school? THEN I notice the parent smoking...WITH THE WINDOWS ROLLED UP! Hello? McFly? Have you heard the effects of second hand smoke on children? Smoke if you want to but please don't expose your child to it. I don't know why this bothered me so much today. It just did.

There are a lot of things bothering me lately when it comes to kids. I see on the news a small child witnessed it's father shooting it's mother (she lived) and then the father killed himself. How terrible for that baby to see that.

All I want to do is be with my babies. I want more than anything to be able to stay home with them and nurture them. I want to be able to be at every event they have and every play and choir program. I want to see every milestone they hit. How can you be a parent and not want that? Some may call me overprotective, or a little nuts about my kids but they were the miracles given to me as a gift. You don't just throw that gift away.

This just struck me today. I know people that have struggled year after year to have a kid. They have struggled to the point where they have to face the fact that they will never be parents. So to those of you (us) that have been blessed to become parents, stop and think about what you have and don't take it for granted. What if they did give licenses for parenting, would you pass?