While I was pregnant with my first son, one of the most common pieces of advice I read or was told was “enjoy every stage.” Even in the hard times, in the middle of the night with a screaming infant, enjoy this moment with your baby. Time is fleeting, other moms would say.
It’s hard in the moment, but it will gone before you know it.
I shrugged it off at first. I was in the thick of learning how to be a mom. Learning how to keep my newborn son alive. Each time I gained traction, he would develop more and I’d be back at square one.
When I had my second son, that piece of advice started to hit home. With a two-year-old and newborn, life moved at a breakneck pace. It felt like my newborn was hitting milestones faster and faster. It felt impossible to relish in the moments, they simply moved too fast.
As my sons have gotten older, that pace has become even faster. Between first grade and preschool, first sports teams, and my own work, it can be easy to fall into bed at the end of the day and wonder where it went.
We’re already at the halfway point of the school year. Christmas came and went in a flash. My sons are learning new things every day and growing up before my eyes. I can’t slow time down. But, I can choose to be present when I’m with them. Put the phone down. Disconnect from work. Read to them. Build Legos. Set up epic battles between heroes and villains.
So that is what I promise to my sons. I will cherish every moment of this crazy life together. The good times when we’re laughing so hard our sides hurt, right alongside the bad times when everyone is overtired and tantrums are epic.
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Photo by Alvaro Reyes on Unsplash
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