So much to learn

You know, there are a lot of days when I think i have it all together. Kids are happy, chores are done, i'm relaxed and generally enjoying life.
And then there are days like today when i realize that i still have so much to learn! Today's realization came in the realm of parenting.
Being a mom is not an easy job, which i'm sure any mom will tell you. I LOVE being a mom, and my kids are pretty special little people, if i do say so myself!
I got really good at babies, having 4 in 4 years. I knew babies inside out and upside down! And now the baby stage is all a blur, and i have gotten really good at preschoolers. Boy, i have preschoolers down PAT! I even have a pretty good handle on young children, as in lower elementary. I think i have it all figured out!!
BUT.....my oldest will soon be NINE. And NINE is not FOUR. NINE is not six or seven even! NINE is a whole new game all over again and on days like today i feel like i'm losing before i even begin! after all, I have never done this age before. This older, more capable, more -mature- yet -still- a- child age.
I am ever thankful, on days like today, that i do not have to do this on my own. My husband, friends and family all have plenty of wisdom to share! The Lord probably knows a thing or two as well, and i'm thinking i should ask Him! :D
New stages in life are not easy. They are new, full of questions and lack of understanding. And like any new stage, when it is over, i will look back on it and think, MAN! do i ever know how to do NINE! but this teenager thing ...WHOA......

Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; He will neither fail you nor abandon you.

Deut. 31:8

One day at a time,

Darcie.