I’ve had 3 babies in almost six years. We started raising our daughters at the beginning of a pandemic and have shifted into the weird world we currently live in. Being a parent is everything I imagined it would be, and much, much more. They tell you the days are long, but the years are short. I never want time to go by too fast, so I’m sharing five things I truly want to remember during this stage of life.
Things I Want to Remember from this Season of Life
- Our kids look to us as role models. Those little eyes and ears follow us everyday. They want to learn, and we are here to teach them. As adults, we have the choice to either keep lemons or make lemonade; how we deal with challenges in life impacts our kids. Choose to be what you yearn for them.
- Everything is temporary (well, most things)! The toys scattered all over, the piles of laundry, the craziness of the day, the little amount of sleep you get…it is A LOT! It also changes with time. As babies grow into little kids, then big kids, teenagers, adults…things shift. It can be easy to focus on those little things. Don’t miss the big picture!
- It is ok to focus on myself. This one is hard for me, and I am usually the first to admit it. Should I have a consistent night where I do something for myself? Will they miss me? How do I balance the guilt of not being present but also doing things I enjoy? In almost six years, I am still working on this. For me, this means finding intentional time to workout (which usually means a 4:30 am alarm), taking time to plan things so I feel organized, having dinner with my girlfriends, making sure I get to the yoga studio to sweat and move my body, and planning date nights with my husband. What I do know, is that if I do as much as I can to show up for myself, I feel 100% better. And that means I can show up for my family much easier than if I put myself last.
- Focus on slowing down. Have you ever felt overstimulated when someone was rushing you? I’ve always been on the go, but it is not easy to rush with three little kids. I recently made some big changes with my career to slow down more and enjoy the little moments. I want to be able to have a great conversation during breakfast, or talk more at bedtime about their day. Life is too short to keep moving all of the time.
- We are doing the best that we can. When thinking about having kids, I didn’t really think about the details of it, just the day to day. There are a lot of moving parts as a parent and as our kids change, so do we. My husband and I have many conversations about parenting, our life, our kids, the decisions that we make, and the goals we have for our family. It can be easy to get lost in the comparison game, or the “I wish I would have…” conversation. Focus on where you are right here and right now. Once that happens, we usually see another path clear ahead of us.
