Coping with mixed emotions can take us by storm, especially in the early days and months.
For as many human emotions there are, there is an opportunity to feel them all and often in
the same day, or even moment. We enter this process as parents being spectators, or “ride a
longs”. We have not made this decision ourselves, and grapple with the magnitude of what this
will mean for our lives moving forward.
On one hand, we see individuals in the community our child has identified that love, honor,
respect, and cherish our children. However, that same life change creates loss and heartache
for us. Finding ourselves dealing with the conflict of positive and negative emotions
surrounding the same event can be confusing.
Each parent will react and respond to these emotional challenges differently and on their own
timeline. Finding helpful solutions can be shared by spouses and other family members to
provide some relief amidst confusion.
In the end it is critically important to honor your feelings both positive and negative. There is
also no “one size fits all” to this process. It is individual by nature, as are the graces one receives
by walking through it.