parenthood

I love my children. I love being a mom. But there is probably no job out there that is as frustrating. Or stressful. And you do it without getting to see the results sometimes for years. It's not like other jobs. A heart surgeon has a lot of stress and I'm sure can be frustrating. But you pretty much know as soon as you take the clamps off whether it is a success or not. An auto mechanic knows when he puts the key in and tries to turn over the engine, whether the job he performed was a success. There are many things that you do as a parent that you can see the results fairly quickly. But there are huge things that you deal with that take months and sometimes years to prove out. So instead of getting immediate feedback to justify what you are doing, or at least give you a bit of insight as to whatever you are doing is working, a lot of time you are left laying there in the middle of the night questioning everything you did that day.

And don't get me started on the guilt. You feel guilty for everything you do. Even when they turn out alright. You still go over them, thinking of ways you could have handled it better.
It is a vicious cycle.

I wonder as I watch my inlaws going through the final stages of their lives, if they still feel that way. Do you always worry about your kids? Do you still second guess your decisions? Do you lay awake at night and wonder if you did it right or at least well.
Is there ever a point in your life where you can deem the job successfully done?