When You Wish The Hard Days Away, Remember The Only Constant In Parenting
“It Won’t Always Be Like That”
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“The days are long but the years are short” — Gretchen Rubin
No parent needs to hear this in the heat of the moment. On those long, lonely nights, when their arms feel like being pulled off the shoulders while dragging the weight of a restless little crier. On those neverending days when the house is a mess and the mind can’t seem to find rest.
I can see how this quote might bring a tear to the corner of your eye when you’re reading it on a good day.
But how about when it hits you on a bad day?
You don’t need anyone to make you feel ungrateful for what you have when what you have is a headache bigger than the blessing that cries on your lap.
So, don’t bother with it. Just tell yourself that it won’t always be like that. Because it won’t.
You won’t always be that tired. He won’t always cry so much.
You won’t always feel like a failure. He won’t always be teething and such.
You won’t always want to run. He won’t always stay glued to your arm.
You won’t always feel overwhelmed. He won’t always lay flat on the cement.
The tears, the guilt, and the moments of doubt will come and go, while you grow.
You grow and he grows. And it won’t always be like that. Whether it’s hard or easy, you’re feeling blessed or stressed, hopeful or hopeless, it won’t last.
Before you know it, you’ll enter a quick pace. That baby of yours will start making sense. He’ll speak words and tell you what he wants. He’ll stop you from your way, to collect some plants. Or rocks. Or sticks. Or a cat. You’ll be quick to dismiss it. But why not take a break?
Take a break and a deep breath. Ask yourself — does this matter? Why wish away a moment in time, when at the very next step you’ll want it all back?
The days aren’t long. And the years are not short. It is just what it is and you feel what you feel. There’s nothing right or wrong about it.
