“You are going to miss this.”
As young moms we hear variations on this phrase. Over and over and over. If you are anything like me, you find yourself thinking, “Yeah, right.” I am sure there are things I will miss about this stage, but there are many things that I won’t. I am pretty sure I won’t miss constant comfort nursing, waking multiple times a night to take care of someone else and cleaning up endless messes that I didn’t make.
But as the Holidays approach, I find myself thinking about those in my life who have lost loved ones this year. For the first time ever, perhaps, I am hearing the heart behind those words.
Some day when my child is hurting either physically or emotionally, and there is NOTHING I can do to take that pain away, I will miss how simple it used to be to comfort my nursing baby.
Some day when I am up all night worrying about a teenager who isn’t home yet, I will miss being woken up by little girls scared of monsters under the bed.
Some day when my kids are gone and the house is just a little too silent, I will miss the chaos that comes from being surrounded by my family.
Nothing lasts forever and, as my father often reminds me, “This is just a season.”
This too will pass, this is just for a time, and it will be followed by another season and another. Neither better nor worse than the before or after. Just simply a season. It’s a balancing act, not wishing our life away looking toward the next season. Not living in the past unable to let go of the season before. Simply enjoying the here and now for what it is and what we will take away from it.
Enjoy this season, there are things, there are people, you will miss.
So here is to embracing this Holiday season. Here is to making memories, telling stories about the seasons before, looking forward to the seasons to come.