I think before we're parents we get "sold" this picture of how parenthood is supposed to go, and the idea that we have some control over it.... We're going to be good parents, and our kids are going to be well-behaved, and love school and do really well, and have lots of friends and be good in sports... And then when we come to the realization that motherhood actually isn't anything like Campbell's soup commercials it's kind of a shock. Even if you really didn't think that logically, you kind of have this image in your head somewhere...
So while of course it would be ridiculous to say it's anything like having a kid with cancer, or something like that, I think what throws one off isn't really that giftedness is a problem, but that you have to adjust to a completely different picture of how it's going to be.
I wouldn't trade DS for the world! But when I was first pregnant with him I wasn't even really planning to be a stay at home mom, much less a homeschooler! I don't regret it at all, in fact I'm quite enjoy the ride... but still there are moments when I remember that picture I had in my head before I had a real child to consider... and it can still be a bit of a shock to think just how far we've diverged from what I expected.
