Deciding what I’ll wear today is a one-and-done choice. 

So is deciding what I’ll have for breakfast.  

Or what film I’ll watch tonight.  

Or where I’ll go on holiday this year. 

Parenthood is not a one-and-done choice. It’s like relationships or going to work or playing a musical instrument. It’s a series of choices. 

We choose to show up every day. We choose to give a shit. We choose to become invested. We choose to give it our best. We choose to reflect on our choices. We choose to say sorry when we mess up, and we choose to forgive ourselves and aim for better next time.  

These everyday choices are what make up our ‘practice’, and we practise parenthood every day. After all, would you trust a doctor to perform surgery on you if that doctor hadn’t practised medicine in thirty years? 

Knowing the difference between a one-time decision and the choice to show up and practise each day is helpful.  

It certainly helps me when the toddler wakes up at 5.30 a.m. screaming for freedom from his cot.