Ten more years…
We were gathered around a table at a fast food restaurant, nearing the end of our four-hour road trip.
It was time to pack the kiddos back in the car after their brief moment of freedom. The baby was snuggled into his car seat waiting to be transported out the door. I glanced down and noticed a big smile spread across his face and looked to see a man across the aisle who had been playing peek-a-boo with him.
The man sat with his wife and teenage son. He looked up at me and said, “I miss when he was that little,” motioning to his son across the table.
I laughed and said something in agreement about how fun it is to have littles and we walked out the door.
These days are full of fun, and they are very long.
There are the endless questions that float through a parent’s brain:
How to respond to the tantrum unfolding?
Should they have another snack or not?
When did I last check diapers?
Why do we always forget the wipes?
How do we convince the baby that sleep is a good thing?
The questions just keep flowing and we have just a moment to rest at the end of the day, if all goes well with the bedtime routine.
Yesterday I walked towards the entrance of the grocery store with a toddler’s hand in mine and a baby in the other arm, juggling a few other things as well.
A lady passed by and said the phrase we all hear so often - “Well you have your hands full!”
I often think how little I knew the truth of that phrase before having kiddos of my own.
Your hands are always full, and yet you find ways to hold a little more. Your arms are tired and your body is weary by the end of a simple day of running errands.
In this season it feels like an accomplishment to simply get everyone out to the car.
I am nearing my 30th birthday and this morning while I get ready for the day, I do the math.
Just ten more years at most.
Just ten more years of newborn snuggles.
Just ten more years of bouncing a baby on my hip.
Just ten more years of watching them learn to crawl.
Just ten more years of celebrating these little milestones.
In the constant flow of days full of lack of sleep and messes to clean we can easily feel that it will all never come to an end.
But it will.
And there is wisdom in calculating the end, in numbering the days. That we may gain a heart of wisdom like it says in Psalm 90.
That I may understand the gift that I hold and the reality of life afterward.
These days are long but they are not endless. I have a measured amount and then they will be gone.
How will I treasure them? How will I squeeze them for every drop they are worth?
The simple phrase, this too shall pass can bring comfort in times of hardship, but it can also serve as a powerful reminder in good seasons as well.
This too shall pass. Let me live today in light of that reality.