This weekend we hosted another family of five in our home--dear friends Steve and I originally met when we lived in the Washington, DC area many years ago. Their three sweet and gorgeous children are younger than ours--ages 4, 3, and 18 months (compared to our 9, 7.5, and 7-year-olds.)
It was fun to be reminded of what a totally different phase of parenting we're in now compared to Chris and Karin (our friends). I loved watching as their little ones toddled around exploring our large yard--needing to be looked after at nearly every moment. Their chubby cheeks and laughing faces brought clearly back to me joys of times gone by.
On the other hand, Chris and Karin were amazed by the phase our kids are in as they helped prepare and serve dinner the first night of their visit: chopping vegetables, serving water, clearing the table, etc. With the all or nothing feeling of those early years in parenting, they couldn't imagine their kids ever being able to do any of that.
I remember feeling exactly the same way. Yet here I am.
I needed this reminder of just how far we've come. As a mama it's so easy to get caught up in the issues of the day (& there are always some!) and miss the growth and fruit we've already experienced in so many other ways.
Whether your kids are two or 20 today, today make an effort to remember how far you've come on this twisty, unpredictable journey of motherhood.
As I've written before in Mindset for Moms, being encouraged (or discouraged) is often just a matter of perspective.
“If you look the right way, you can see that the whole world is a garden.”
~ Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret Garden
