So much of this is still so overwhelming. It's like- Okay parent, so your kid will either cure cancer or drop out of school and suffer from depression, all depends on whether or not you can get your stuff together. No pressure. lolol
Again, I can totally relate. For me what helped was to sit back, breath and look at the bigger picture. For me my main parenting goal is the same as it was before I knew their IQ's - to help them become happy productive members of society and to encourage them to set the bar higher than living in my basement playing video games lol. It is up to them to figure out what is important to them, pursue their version of happiness and figure out where their passion lies. I can only hope that DH and I lead by example and help them keep as many doors open as possible and encourage them to make some decent choices when they choose which ones they want to go through.
For the depression/dropping out side of things I look back into my family tree and friends and see more than a few cautionary tales so even before we had scores this was always high on my radar. Not all were gifted so it helped me to realize that it can happen to all types. I also feel confident that we live in an age where there are more alternatives than ever to traditional school if we ever need to explore them. I have no idea where DH and I fit on the gifted curve but we both learned from our experiences and hopefully our children will benefit from that. I figure we are both miles ahead of our parents when they sent us off to school. My mom still tells the story about being shocked that I was on the honor roll in junior high
On the cure cancer side - yes PG kids are rare but when you look at the population of a country or the world there are still a lot of them. Not all of them are going to cure cancer or change the world and that is ok. Yes my kids often stick out in a crowd locally but then I come here and read the wonderful stories about kids here that make them look like they are in the slow lane and it helps give me some perspective. It will be ok if my two don't end up being the ones that cure cancer because there are lots of kids here that just might
Finally, I will add that it seems to come in waves for us. Sometimes parenting my intense kids is completely overwhelming and it seems impossible. Then we somehow get through it and have smooth sailing for a while until it swings back again. Over the years I've figured out who I can vent to and confide in and who understands that gifted isn't all a gift at times. Whether IRL or via some anonymous forum these people have been a lifeline (and in many cases great drinking partners haha).
