It was 8:30 pm and we were hopping into bed. Zac said to me, "Kate, we are so boring. It's Saturday night and we're going to bed already..."
And while I couldn't disagree with him, I kindly reminded him that this is just the season of life we're in right now. We have an 18 month old, who generally turns into a pumpkin by 8:00 pm. He wakes up before the sun though, and therefore we do, too.
In this season of life, our "dates" generally include Ellis. They include being flexible to his needs, which means eating earlier, making sure it's a restaurant with something on the menu that he will eat, and us eating cold food while we try to keep his attention long enough to get through the meal without a royal mess on the floor.
In this season of life, we can't just pick up & go as easily as we once could. Take for instance, a day at the beach.
Oh, it's going to be so fun!... is the expectation.
The reality:
No one can find the sunscreen; how is it not in the diaper bag? "Is the stroller still in the car?" Half way out the door... "Can you grab his sun hat.. not the green one, the blue one with the wider brim and chin strap." "Where are his sun glasses... omg how are they broken already?!" "Is 3 swim diapers enough for the day?" ***Don't forget the snacks. "Where are the beach towels?"... likely, still in the wash from last time. "Does he need water shoes?" Maybe we should grab an umbrella for the sun. "Is the cooler packed?" "Did you stop & get ice?" "Is there plenty of water... what about his milk?" "Can you blow up his tube?" Don't forget the sand toys.
After 45 minutes of packing, we will get to the beach and it will rain. The strap on the beach bag will break. We won't use 3/4 of the stuff we packed. And it will not be relaxing, at least not for mom. She will be busy running after baby (how did we forget the LIFE JACKET?!), sun screening, trying to get sand out of all the crevices, keeping baby from eating said sand, and praying to God he doesn't poop in the swim diaper.
BUT, I will post a
photo of Ellis in his swim trunks on Instagram and everyone will think we had THE BEST DAY!
In this season of life, we waste a lot of food, too... Good for Grace though, as she gets a lot of table scraps now. One day Ellis loves eggs, the next day he won't even try them. Same with zucchini & green beans. One day he wrinkles his nose at them them, and then the next day he can't get enough of them. By the third day he has the shits from all the green beans & zucchini he ate.
Speaking of shits, we talk about poop a lot. I covered that in
this post though, so I'll spare you the redundancy.
In this season of life, we visit the doctor monthly and our Health Savings Account is depleted.
In this season of life, there are spills on the carpet and toys every where. Forget about cute home decor -- all of my favorite pieces are packed away; well more like stashed in the office, which
"organize the office" has been on my To Do List for the last 14 months.
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I've come to realize that in this season of life, I just need to lower my expectations. The fun family days I have planned in my head won't go as planned... And that's OK! Not every day is going to be
Instagram perfect. If I've learned anything since becoming a parent, it's that every day is a gift. Even in the most mundane moments. Life is truly a series of a thousand miracles; we just have to notice them.
So our days start early, and they end early. It's just the way it is right now. I know that this season won't last forever, and I am really, truly trying to savor all it's goodness!
Read my other lessons of parenthood here & here.
