Parent vs. Non-parent

            This morning I found two blogs that were very opposite in parental views. Well, that was obvious just by the title. One blog was bashing childless people who offer unwanted advice and even had 'shut the eff up' in the title, and the other blog was simply titled "STFU Parents." First of all, "ouch" to the second blog, and while that is a HIGHLY annoying title, I get it. I read the blog bashing the childless people, and can understand just how annoying moms can be. Not all moms, so please don't get offended, but I can totally be annoying and I know it. However, we can't help it, can we? We are obsessed with our kids and for good reason. We carried them for 9 months and they are just so perfect. Right? Correct. I can't really be angry with the non-parents for hating us parents who are obsessed with our children because I was one of them. Yes, I admit, before I had Connor I had all the answers to parenting. I knew everything when it came to having the perfect child. "Why is her kid so psychotic?" "Discipline, people!" "He's only fussy because they let him be." Uhm... Yeah, I really had the answers until April 26, 2011 when Connor joined the world. I was clueless. It's true what they say, ya know.. babies aren't fussy for the first couple of weeks, and then reality sets in. I thought I was going to be admitted. For the first couple of months of Connor's life, he just cried, and for the first time, I did not have the answers. It's so easy to point fingers and tell someone they are doing it wrong. "Okay then, I'm happy to have your help if you think you can stop him from crying." With children, God gives you strength you never knew you had, patience, and he also gives you a big slab of anxiety. Everywhere you go, you can probably spot a frazzled parent. If you are traveling by plane, you will definitely be able to spot a frazzled mom (I have been that mom on many occasions). The anxiety is usually brought on by our fear of pissing off the childless person sitting next to us. I have been lucky on most flights though, and have had very friendly people sitting next to me. Even the poor man who kept getting his black arm hair pulled by my 7 month old. Sorry, guy. I was so stressed out, but that sweet man just smiled. I've learned that if Connor cries, he cries. Me being anxious about him crying isn't going to prevent the inevitable. If non-parents are pissed about it, then they are pissed about it. I was that non-parent who was pissed about crying kids at some point, and if I knew then what I know now then maybe I'd be more patient. BUT, like I stated above, God gives you patience with your baby, so I don't expect people to be patient with my child. Maybe a little tolerant, but not patient. What I'm really trying to get at is simply that the parent vs. non-parent war isn't going to end. Because non-parents don't understand what it is like to be the frazzled moms, and us frazzled moms are too frazzled to remember what it was like to be the annoyed non-parent. We are just gonna have to agree to disagree..