To everything there is a season...I memorized this scripture as a child and lately it has been circling back to the forefront of my mind. The interesting thing about seasons is they don't last. They come and go and come back around again, sometimes before you even realize they ended. My baby is now 14 months old, and even though we have crossed the one year mark and milestone, I still feel like I am in a new season myself.
I'm finding out though that that's just how mommyhood works, always changing on us. I was at coffee the other day with a girlfriend who is a couple of stages ahead of me as a mama and she encouraged me so much by saying "these days that you are in right now, they can be long, and you are doing the heavy lifting physically and you are exhausted at the end of the day, but these days are so fast and sweet."
She's in a totally different phase of her own life where she is balancing school, sports, and even though she has more "time for herself" these days she also carries the emotional side of parenting little people who are becoming bigger people all the time. She said, "it's more important for me to be there to tuck them in at night, than ever before." She is so right.
A little less than a year ago, we took Everette to church for the first time and after the service we were chatting with a couple, who are now empty nesters, and in my exhaustion I asked her "will I ever look and feel put together like you again at church?" She laughed and said, "of course you will, I totally remember feeling just like that when I had little babies, but you know what now I'd give anything to have them little again." I think about this conversation almost every Sunday morning now when we are rushing around trying to get ready and get there, and just remember to try and embrace the chaos.
To be brutally honest with you, sometimes I miss washing my hair everyday, or keeping a fresh manicure. I miss eating lunch with coworkers, drinking a cup of coffee while it's still hot, having time for myself, or just feeling like there's nothing I "need" to do. But, this too is just a season, a very sweet season, and one day, not too distant from now, that little baby will be all grown up and won't need me as much.
So for now, I don't want to miss putting her down for naps, our mid morning strolls, or bath time. I don't want to miss one second of her babyness or the way she makes our house smell. I want to slow down, and soak up these days where I can fix all her troubles with a snuggle or a snack. These ordinary days are some of the very best of my life, and I don't want to miss a second, because after all it's just a season.
grt
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