In the Whirled: The type of mother my children got

However, I like to think that the grace of God covers the raw mistakes of early parenting, the blemishes of late parenting, and all the follies that tumble out of us as we try to teach and manage so many little people.

Surely, in the final accounting, the Lord will give a special pass to first children for their stubbornness, the seconds for their jealousies, the thirds for their carefree-to-a fault attitude, fourths and beyond for their volume and willfulness — and most especially to parents, who, in not being able to travel back and consult their former selves, must learn line upon line what being a parent means.

If that isn’t enough, I have a younger sister who told me recently, “I’m so glad you had children first, so I could learn from your mistakes.”

I’m the oldest, you see. And I bear the burden and blessing of that privilege.

Tiffany Gee Lewis lives in St. Paul, Minn., and is the mother of four boys. She blogs at thetiffanywindow.wordpress.com. Her email is tiffanyelewis@gmail.com