Seasons of Life
I was a new mom struggling to adjust to a completely volatile schedule of sleep, nursing, changing diapers, and laundry, when I stopped to have a few minutes of adult conversation with my neighbor at the time. She smiled at my exhausted appearance and said something to me that has shifted my perspective forever… “This is a hard and beautiful season of life.”
That was the first time I heard life described as seasons and it made so much sense. We grow and evolve through life while our circumstances, responsibilities, relationships, and priorities change. With that shift in perspective my discomfort in the adjustment was so clearly understandable to me. I had just changed seasons.
I was in a season of new marriage and building my career, but with the arrival of our first child, my season changed to one of a new mother who was staying home to care for our child. This change in seasons brought a whole bunch of changes with it. My schedule had changed, my physical body had changed, and my heart and priorities had forever changed. I was excited for this new season, however that did not mean that the changes came easily. There were things I was missing from the season that I stepped out of. I can remember trying to hold onto some of that last season: I would check in on the business I had left and the friends that I worked with, I would try to organize my time and see some sort of tangible accomplishments come out of it, and I tried to look and feel like I did before having a baby. Much like the seasons in weather, it is hard to enjoy the new season if you are trying to hold onto the last…You can’t have a snow ball fight in the spring time!
At that time in my life I decided to refocus my efforts in going “all in” to the season I was experiencing. As a young mom I embraced the messy (for the most part) and wore the cape with my kids to the store. We painted faces and made costumes out of foil. I had to let go of that young professional trying to be taken seriously and embrace the opportunity to play with my kids. What this really meant was that I needed to reevaluate my values and my needs for this season and then start making choices to align with them. When I do that it feels great and when I loose sight of that I feel frustrated and a bit lost.
I am now in a time of changing seasons again. My kids are teenagers and need me differently and I am reengaged with my growing career. I have been feeling the shifts and noticing that it is time for me to check in on what this seasons values and needs are so I can adjust. I write this now to share my experience with the seasons of life in hopes that you too can embrace your season and fully experience the joys, lessons, and growth that it has to give you.
-Cheers to the season you are in and the One Amazing You!
