Good or bad, this too shall pass
Kaity Holtman
To the mommies pouring their second cup of coffee, standing in total exhaustion because their newborn was up half the night, remember…
This too shall pass.
When you’re learning to nurse your child and fighting the anxiety and pain that come along with getting just the right latch, remember…
This too shall pass.
When your child that’s been sleeping through the night hits a growth spurt or regresses in his sleep patterns, keep in mind…
This too shall pass.
In the middle of the night when you’re cleaning up baby vomit in the crib and starting a load of laundry, remember…
This too shall pass.
When you have to go back to work after maternity leave and drop your baby off for someone else to love on every day, thinking you can never get used to being apart, remember…
This too shall pass.
If you’re battling ear infection after ear infection, and your baby is fussing because it’s the only way she knows how to express herself, I promise…
This too shall pass.
When you’re tired of the song of their favorite toy playing over, and over, and over again, even possibly in your dreams, keep in mind…
This too shall pass.
When your baby just won’t let you put him down, so you can’t get anything done around the house, remember…
This too shall pass.
But while you’re holding that baby, take a long minute to look down at their perfect eyelashes and sweet innocence, because…
This too shall pass.
And when you notice that your baby now takes two arms to hold instead of one, or his legs reach out over the edge of the rocking chair, squeeze him tight because…
This too shall pass.
When you feel like you can’t keep up with life, just sit and say, “ok, God, I get it. The laundry will wait,” because…
This too shall pass.
If your baby only wants his momma, and no one else will do once you get in his line of sight, take it all in, because…
This too shall pass.
When your shoulder is covered in wet or your makeup is ruined from excess slobber, enjoy every sloppy baby kiss, because…
This too shall pass.
For our babies become toddlers, and kiddos, then tweens, to teens, and eventually adults.
And while the challenges that come with having little babies seem insurmountable at times, they do pass.
They may pass like a kidney stone, but they do pass. (I wish I could take credit for that joke, but I read it somewhere else.)
But we have to keep in mind, while we wish away the hard times, there are good times that will pass alongside the bad.
Just like the day I came home from my 40-week appointment being no closer to having that baby than I was at 39, 37, 38, 36 weeks, it can seem like the light at the end of the tunnel is just a figment of the imagination.
I remember saying, “this is just how it is. I’m going to be pregnant for the rest of my life.” But the light was just a couple days away. The wait was worth it, as are the challenges that babies bring.
And it’s something we have to go through, no one can tell us. And if they do tell us, we don’t fully understand until we’re on the other side.
I began telling Sam’s babysitter, “This too shall pass,” as she would console me and tell me it would be ok at 6:30 a.m. after being up half the night.
And I still say it to her every once in a while. But sometimes, I say it about the good, as a reminder not to take anything for granted.
For, this too shall pass, and we’ll look back with a smile of bittersweet emotions, wishing “this” might have lasted just a little bit longer.
Kaity Holtman is the Agriculture Editor for the Maryville Daily Forum.
