They probably still lose sleep over you.

If you’re reading this, chances are you’re grown – and clearly on social media. Your timeline has been full of back to school updates and cute kids in their first day outfits. There’s probably been a meme or two showing how parents throw a party when when their kids’ summer is over. In seeing all the apparent excitement, I wonder if you stopped to remember back to when you were a kid. What was your morning and afternoon routine like? How many things did you cram in between after school and bedtime? The truth is something only to be understood if/when you become a parent.

With the school season comes many great things. There’s the set schedule, more organization, learning and growing kids, and with the busy schedule comes less money spent frivolously. However, there’s no shortage of challenges for us parents when it comes to keeping it all together. Here are a few things that may have gone unnoticed while you parents were winning at being superheroes:

There is no such thing as alone time.

Parents live and breath their kids, and the chaos that comes with living life to the fullest. Some parents are lucky enough to have kids who sleep the whole night, so staring at the backs of their eyelids is their alone time. Most parents have double occupancy everywhere from the bathroom, their bed, and even their spot at the table. We take pride in living for our kids, but every human needs a moment or two to refill their cup.

There’s  A LOT of maneuvering to make schedules work every day.

The next day starts for parents the previous night. Clothes need to be put out, lunches need to be prepped, or there would be zero time in the morning for them to shower themselves and get dressed. So much happens behind the scenes, especially when there is juggling multiple extracurricular schedules. By the time parents get to work, they feel exhausted as if the act of getting kids where they need to be and making it to work on time was a job in itself – and it sometimes is.

They probably forgot to feed themselves on many occasions.

Let’s face it, meal prep every week is just not always a realistic option. By the time everyone gets home, it’s dinner, showers, homework, and bed. By the time kids are tucked in and parents plop down on the couch, they realize they still need to eat.

All those times they said no to something fun, they wanted to do it more than you did.

One thing most kids will never believe, is disciplining is harder on the parents than it is on the kids. How many times do you recall your parents saying no to you, or cancelling fun plans because of bad behavior? Whether you were going with a friend, or had elaborate plans with your family, your parents were looking forward to that peace and quiet or that play time. Parents take what they can get as far as a breather, and they are also kids at heart who like to go on rides and play arcade games. Making the best decisions for our kids, so that they can grow to be the best people they can be, has to be priority.

Your homework is really their homework.

Some parents are students, some need to bring their work home. On top of that, they have your homework. We have to make enough time in the busy day for you to dedicate to completing it. For more elaborate assignments, we may have to run a refresher course on Google in order to be of assistance. We have a lot crammed in our brains, and going through a second round of grade school is not always easy. However, the quality time spent together on these assignments is one of the best parts of our days.

They do the best they can with the little time they have.

Take a step back, and either watch your parents now or remember to when you were younger. Depending on their lifestyle and or/profession, they could be a working parent, a student, a homemaker, a volunteer, or all of the above. Their days start by waking up, getting the kids ready, getting themselves ready, and everyone out the door. There is dropping off, getting to work, working, and then picking up. Often times, this is followed by sports and other activities, then dinner and the evening routine. Don’t forget about any unplanned or routine appointments. For families with one vehicle, or possibly no vehicle, this can be especially challenging. Unfortunately, there’s only so many hours in a day.

If given a choice, they would do it all over again.

As exhausting as it is, there is no greater devotion and duty than that of a parent. The hours are long, and many times we have no idea what we are doing, but we wouldn’t have it any other way. The love we have for our children is unfathomable. Children are the greatest joy, the best motivation, and the true reason behind why parents work so hard to do their very best. Life just wouldn’t be the same without you – we wouldn’t know what to do with ourselves.

Some parents are so graceful, you can never tell just how chaotic their lives are. Others wear it all over their face and their worn and mismatched clothes. Regardless, give them praise, for they give their all to make sure you have the best life has to offer.