I’m officially the mom of two teenage girls. It seems like just yesterday, I was dragging myself out of bed, forcing myself to answer the call of a screaming baby who demanded to be fed. I remember by the time I fed, burped, and changed my baby, it was almost time to start the whole process again. For me, those days are long gone. Over. Thank goodness. I don’t think I could do it again.

Having a baby, and young kids, is exhausting. It’s amazing, and special, and all of those wonderful things we’ve been taught to say, but it’s also hard core work. And anyone who says differently is a liar. A LIAR.

Mostly, I just remember the good times. The snuggles, cute little girls with matching outfits and bows in their hair, long walks, picnics, family trips, and birthday parties.

Today, I saw a mom with a baby, in the parking lot of the mall. She looked absolutely exhausted. It was raining outside, and she was trying to get her baby out of the car, and into the stroller that was getting wet as she tried her best to open the darn thing. One almost needs an engineering degree to figure out how to get those contraptions to work.

I wanted to stop my car, give her a hug, and tell her she’s doing a great job. I wanted to tell her that even though she looks exhausted, the sleep will come. Eventually. I wanted to tell her that I’ve been there, and I know how hard it is,  but that it’s worth it.

It’s worth being tired, and cranky, and exhausted. I wanted to say to her, “Look at my two beautiful daughters. Look what I get to have now.” Sure, they might talk back to me, stress me out, and drive me crazy. But look. Just look at how amazing they are.

And one day, this will be you.

But I didn’t stop, because she’d probably think I was insane, and call the cops. Instead, I silently said a prayer for her, sent her positive thoughts, and tried to smile at her as I drove past.

Find meaning each day,

Dara