This too shall pass

I'm sat on my bed, cwtched up with my littlest man because he's flat refusing to sleep any other way, and I'm thinking about a conversation I had with a lovely friend a few days ago. We talked about the importance of drinking in everything we can about this season of having small children. Yes, even the messier, more challenging stuff.

The broken nights. 

The cold cups of tea, reheated more than once.

The mountain of washing, clean but not yet sorted. Dishes too.

This too shall pass.

The teething.

The immunisations. 

The crying.

This too shall pass.

The rushing to get everything and everyone dressed, packed, clean and out the door.

The child's sudden, last minute urge for the toilet as you're dashing to get somewhere.

The explosive nappy equally perfect in its timing. 

This too shall pass.

The tantrums.

The mess.

The constant repetition of one word: "Listen!!"

This too shall pass.

The significant struggle to concentrate on anything requiring more than a little brain-power.

The texts, emails and facebook messages which say I've seen them - actually unread still- and definitely unresponded to.

The desire to phone that friend back but a stronger desire some nights to just zone out.

This too shall pass.

We use this age-old phrase, "this too shall pass" to reassure ourselves that the chaos is just for a time, that one day it will all be calm again, that the baby haze will lift and some kind of order will return. 

(As an aside we were still slightly waiting for that to happen even before Reuben arrived!) The thing is though, when "it passes" other things pass with it.

Middle of the night snuggles.

That pure baby smell. Like nothing else.

The tiny clothes and hooded towels.

This too shall pass.

The way they look at you like you're the actual funniest thing they've ever seen.

The classic finger gripping yours.

The endearing, often hilarious, mispronunciation of words, sometimes forming a whole other word of their own.

This too shall pass.

The innocence. 

The milestones.

The cuddles.

This too shall pass.

The hustle, bustle and noise of play and make-believe filling the house.

The complete reliance on you to take care of their every need. And their utter trust in you to do so.

The giggles that make your heart feel like it could explode.

This too shall pass.

Struggles are real. They shall pass. 

Time is fleeting and every day precious. May I choose to focus whenever possible on savouring and soaking up the beautiful moments. They too shall pass.