This Won’t Be My Life One Day

As I sat at my computer the other morning, trying to work on my ever-growing to-do list, I kept hearing, “Mom! Mommy! Mom!” It was only 8:23am and if I’m honest, I was already exasperated with all of the interruptions. “Whaaat?!” I finally exclaimed.

Silence.

I glanced over and what I saw broke my heart right in two: my little boy, eyes wide, holding his favorite trains in his hands. “Mommy play?” he said softly.

Motherhood. That one simple word represents more than I can possibly write in a short blog – laughter, joy, heartache, frustration, beauty, delight, exhaustion… insert your experience here. I think the one thing we can all agree on though, is just when they drive us to the brink of insanity, they pull us right back in with those sweet, tender hearts.

And in that moment, with my son looking up at me, the realization hit: this won’t be my life one day.

And can I tell you that it nearly knocked the breath out of me??

One day, I won’t have babies snuggled in our bed. I won’t be changing diapers all day. Or wiping messy faces. Or picking them up out of their cribs after a nap. Or putting socks and shoes back on after they take them off every. single. time. we drive somewhere (SERIOUSLY, WHY IS THIS A THING?!).

Sometimes it feels like this is our forever, right?

Long days, seemingly constant direction and discipline. Sometimes it’s incredibly overwhelming to know how much they need us. So often, I find myself in the trap of longing for a future season, different scenery.

And then moments like this happen. When I can actually feel my heart breaking as it hits me that they won’t always need me this much. That one day, they’ll be feeding themselves, buckling their own seatbelts, washing their own hair. That one day… they won’t be asking me to play anymore. 

No matter how often it feels like they’ll always be this little, the reality is, babies, grow up.

So I just want to encourage you, sweet mama… that today, wherever you may be, whatever season you are in.. embrace it.

Accept it.

Be FULLY present.

FULLY engaged.

Because you know what? Even when it feels like they won’t, these days WILL pass and never come around again, so don’t forget to LIVE them. Sit a little longer, leave the chores and work when they ask, “Mommy play?”, laugh a little harder at their silliness, snuggle them a little tighter before bed.

No, it’s true, this won’t be my life one day.. and I want to soak up every last moment of them being small. Every hard, beautiful, exhausting, fleeting moment.

I don’t want to wish it away, I want to make it count. Because babies don’t keep being babies.