The 8 Most Difficult Mommy Moments I’ve Experienced So Far

No one said being a parent would be easy. In fact, everyone – family, friends, colleagues, neighbors, little old ladies at the grocery store – reminded me that it was just the opposite, that being a mom would be the “hardest job I’d ever love.” So I knew there would be challenges and roadblocks, but I also knew that they would be overshadowed by the immeasurable joy and love and delight of my kids. And for the most part, that’s true… which only makes it that much harder when you run smack into a proverbial parenting brick wall.

My oldest is six years old and just finished up kindergarten, so I know some of the challenges we’ve faced to date will seem like a piece of cake compared to what’s in store for us during the adolescent years. But in the meantime, here are 8 of the most difficult parenting moments I’ve faced so far.

1. Catching your child in a blatant lie. You know, the intentional, I-want-to-mislead-you kind of lie because they don’t want to get into trouble.

2. Hearing your child complain, or cry, about being excluded by their friends from certain events or activities. We’ve all been there ourselves at some point – whether as a child or an adult – and know how much it can sting.

3. The first time you’re confronted with “I hate you!” Of course, when a 6-year-old says it, you know he doesn’t really mean it, but it doesn’t mean it hurts any less.

4. The inevitable sex question. Having a child completely catch you off guard with such loaded questions as, “Mommy, how DID the baby get in your tummy?” or “Mommy, how did people get on our planet?”

5. When my formerly cuddly little boy rejects and rebuffs my hugs and kisses.

6. The months when my son, as a toddler, openly preferred his dad over me. I knew it was only a phase, but wow, that was rough.

7. That first full-fledged, red-faced, banshee-screaming, feet-stomping public temper tantrum.

8. Deciding if — and how — to explain such tragedies as the Newtown school shooting and Boston Marathon bombing to my 6-year-old.

Mamas, do any of these sound familiar?