The daily struggle of life in general can take a toll on you. Motherhood is it's own feat. Challenging, exhausting, overwhelming the list goes on.
Parenting can seem like a battle every day. Yet we choose it over and over again, because we know it's worth it. We know the value. We know the sacrifice. We know the worth. Through the seasons, I repeat to myself over, and over again, " This, this is just a season."
I just had my third little one, and I can say for myself going from two to three has been the hardest adjustment. This time around, I'm older which has made it harder but also in that aspect it has made me a better parent.
Even though with two older ones, the needing doesn't end, the constant "Mom's," continue throughout the day. The thing I have learnt throughout the years, espeically being a mother a third time around, is that everything has it's season.
There's a season for everything. Everything in it's season. As the beautiful verse in The Bible states
"Ecclesiastes 3
King James Version
1 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
2 A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
3 A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
4 A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
5 A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
6 A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
7 A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
8 A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace."
Sometimes we can get so taken up with the mundane and repetitive tasks that we fail to see the big picture. In doing so we tend to miss the small moments that matter.
When I look back at my older two's baby photos, I cannot believe how time have flown by, and it grips my heart strings because I miss those sweet baby moments.
I realize now that during those moments, I was so stressed-out taking care of so many things, that most of the time I didn't stop and smell the fresh air, so to speak. Being more specific, I should have stopped to smell those little toes, that little baby head, kissed those sweet cheeks more. I was so busy doing the dishes, cleaning and mopping the floors, constantly putting away toys, that I took for granted those moments and it left me with no energy to enjoy them.
Some days are so extremely tough, post-partum this time around has been one of the hardest times for me; yet I still tell myself, "This is just a season."
The nighttime feeds are just a season. The four-month sleep regressions are just a season. The spitting up will just be for a season. Holding wee little ones all the time will only last a season.
Looking back at the first month post-partum, it seemed like sleep was nowhere in sight. The constant waking to change diapers, to feedings. Now that time has already passed. I no longer wake in the middle of the night for diaper changes, schedules are more in place. Slowly things are getting back to "normal." But who get to say what normal is? Who gets to decide that in your home? You get to choose what normal is. Don't let the little things make you miss the sweet simple joys.
So, wherever you are in your journey, just know that it is just for a season. Whether it is potty training, teaching to reach, homeschooling, newborn stages, nighttime feeds, diaper changes, doctor appointments, they are all only for a season.
Some seasons dwell a little bit longer than others. Sometimes we may experience that "false spring", where things are getting easier and then it goes back into another struggle. Let's not let those discourage us from moving forward.
For in summer, we may enjoy trips to the ocean, the bright blue skies, long summer days, while in the winter we can enjoy the restfulness of shorter days. Fall we enjoy the foliage and warm spices, baked pies, then spring, my favorite of them all those flowers bloom, the weather is crisp and cool. There are so many good things in each season. Let's not forget to stop and smell the fresh air for each season, even if the air smells like spit up or diapers.