Being a parent. Is it my most adventurous moment?

Once upon a time I was an adult who didn’t have a care in the world but when my next social outing was going to be and who it was going to be with.

Then I booked a round the world airplane ticket ten whole months before I was due to fly out because that’s how adventurous I am. Mmm. Ok, I’m a bit cautious and knew that if I didn’t book this flight then I could make lots of excuses not to go.

I travelled and worked overseas for two years and had little adventures along the way, had a great time and met loads of great people, came back from that and worked and studied for six years and also ventured into a four year relationship. After that broke off, and after I finished studying I ventured overseas again, got pregnant, and some could say, I wandered into the biggest adventure of my life. Or did I?

Sure, some might say that getting pregnant while overseas knowing that the father is not going to be any help financially, emotionally or physically is a big adventure, or they just might say it’s plain stupidity.

When I became pregnant I definitely ventured into the unknown. I didn’t know how I would cope with being a parent, let alone a sole parent. I didn’t know how I would cope financially. My paid maternity leave lasted for three months and I was lucky to even get that, but then I had six months of having to rely on government benefits. To anyone who says that women get pregnant to live off benefits has obviously never done it because it barely meets expenses. Luckily having a new baby is not conducive to going out and spending lots of money.

I consider myself not to be really adventurous at all these days. If I want to be spontaneous, something I equate with being adventurous, it’s practically impossible unless I can drag my child along with me. But then, what really is adventure? Does it have to be something big? No I don’t think so.

For now it’s the little adventures during each day like seeing something in a new light that my son points out. It’s not knowing what each day will bring because being a parent is unpredictable. That birthday party he’s been invited to might be the place to meet someone new that I never would have met before. It’s realising that while his reading is fairly average, he seems to grasp math concepts beyond his age. It’s knowing that he’s growing up too damn fast and I’d better make the most of this time we have together where he actually wants to spend it with me because I’m the best person in the world.

These are the little adventures that keep me going until the next big adventure comes along. And who’s to say that next big adventure won’t be together?

So back to my original question, ‘Is being a parent my most adventurous moment?’. I can’t answer that yet because it’s still happening. As I’m not one for regrets, I don’t regret that I have missed out on different adventurous moments I might have had if I wasn’t a parent.

This is for Scribbit’s July Write-Away contest.