6 reasons to live for now as a parent

Someone recently said to me, “your time will come”, and as a parent, it can often be all too easy to let your own life pass you by as you focus on raising well rounded children. Not saying there is anything wrong with that, but I mean, really…will our time come? Or should we just say eff it and live for now? I have to say I’m inclined towards the latter. Here’s 6 reasons why we probably shouldn’t wait “til your time comes”.

Your time may never come at all

Not to be macabre, but seriously, there are enough unknowns in this life – health, random acts where we are in the wrong place at the wrong time, serious bad luck, and general life drama that mean that quite frankly, our time may never come at all.

When your time comes it’ll be too late

Shouldn’t we all enjoy life when we are in our prime, not on a steady decline towards a world of zimmerframes, crochet and general old age crustiness?

There’s no time like the present

Studies show happy people live in the now. Surely chasing a ridiculous version of the future will only make us miserable?

That statement is a load of turd

Think about anyone who has ever told you that your time will come. Are they literally swinging by the chandeliers in their 60s and 70s? Is their life so exciting that you are eaten up alive with envy, and would do anything to have it as your own? Erm….no.

Your time is now

You may never be a better version of yourself than you are today, faults n all. So the time to grab the bull by the horns is not coming – it’s now.

We are a different generation

Those from older generations who love to tell us “our time will come” grew up in a different world. A world when you just got on, and made do. We live in a world where we want to be everything, we want to experience everything, and we expect so much more from our lives, albeit they are far more complicated. If we wait until our time comes, how can we make that happen?

Of course, I’m not suggesting that we throw all our parenting responsibilities to the wind and run naked through the fields of life (that would be far too scary – for a start, too many wobbly bits everywhere), but as parents, while we might not be able to live every day as if it were our last, we certainly need not wish our lives away and wait until our time comes. Because maybe it won’t. And if you need further back up on this point, listen to this by neurologist, philosopher and all round incredible savant Sam Harris on why it is always now…(which by the way I listen to almost every day it has had such an impact on me).

So what do you think – do you live by the philosophy that your time is now, or your time will come – leave a comment below and let me know which camp you’re in!

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7 comments

  1. I don’t really like it either when someone comments “Your time will come” I try not to say it too, though I have this stinking feeling I must have said it too in the past. When it comes to parenting, I always let my instincts guide me, so far I haven’t been let down yet (knocks on wood).

  2. I don’t like ‘your time with come’ and what it implies. I try to live my life for now, as you can only deal with the here and now. There is no point worrying about might or could happen in 6 months time. x

  3. I love this! I feel like my time is right now. My children are all weaned off the breast and now that little bit more older so I can leave them for short periods of time, unlike when they were babies. I am having so many adventures, sometimes with them, sometimes without. My time is definitely now. 🙂

  4. I don’t really like hearing ”your time will come” why wait for that when you have the options to do as you please and every day is a new day and every year is a new change.

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