“These are some of the best days of your life, and you don’t realize it til they’re gone. I would do anything to be a mother of little ones again.”

These words from a middle-aged stranger hit me like a train as she watched me struggle with my defiant, almost-two-year-old, who absolutely and completely did not want to get into his car seat. When your child arches his back and straightens his legs to make it impossible to strap him in, it makes you wish for him to grow up.

However, when he finally gave in, the straps were fastened, and I took my place in front of the steering wheel, the stress of the moment melted away and I began to think more deeply.

God has really been working in my heart lately to teach me to see and understand that everything in life really does come in seasons. For the past 10 years of my life, I have been in various seasons of extreme busyness. There were never enough hours in the day to even begin to tackle my entire to-do list, except during those few precious weeks of summer that went by so fast (first as a student, then as a teacher).

My current season is much slower. While I’m still working, there are fewer hours of it and more time to be a wife and mom. If I’m being completely honest, I don’t love it as much as I thought I would. I often feel antsy, lonely, and a little bit bored. I also feel like a bad mom in saying that, but it’s the truth–being at home more with your babies is truly a sacrifice (and yes, I used to be the mom working 80 hours a week who would definitely roll her eyes upon hearing that statement).

Being the mom of littles is hard. It means losing sleep, not getting very much done because you spend 75% of the day undoing the disasters created by your littles, and a whole lot of patience. It’s very easy to get caught up in the messy moments and to not see the bigger picture of this season.

Trippe is only two, but I already look back at pictures from a year or two ago and it brings me to tears. This season truly is going so fast. It’s already time for potty training, toddler beds, and buying clothes with “T” in the size instead of months. I think about the good memories we’ve had even this week and all of the cute little things he says as he’s started to combine words into short & jumbled sentences. I know that, very soon, I’m going to miss these days.

To my fellow young moms who are also mustering up the strength to fight with a defiantly strong toddler to put on their pants after nap time, who wonder when she’ll ever get more than 3 hours of sleep in a row again, or who feel overwhelmed by so many little people under a certain age under the same roof, consider this: these are the days. These are the days that you will look back on in a few years and wish for their return. These are the days that are so hard, because they’re so important. These are the days that God is using to shape you to become more like him, as he rids your heart of selfishness and your feelings of self-sustenance. These are the days that you’ll wish you could return to when you reach middle age. These are the days that you have the time to slow down, look around, and take it all in. These are the days you can go without nice clothes and makeup, because, well, who cares? These are the days that God has called you to right now, in this season. Use them to love, to cherish, to smile, and to share the joy that he has given you.

Happy Mother’s Day, beautiful friends.