It's Just A Phase

One of the hardest things to do as a mom is to remember that whatever is happening right now is not going to keep happening forever.  It might stop happening in a month, or a week, or tomorrow, good or bad.  And some new thing will take place of that current thing, and that current thing will disappear almost instantly from your mind.

Really, the thing that you spend all your energy worrying about right now is almost over.  And when it's over, you will almost never think of it again.

In the spirit of remembering the temporariness of the current moment, here is a list of things that I have, at some point, been certain would never change, but did:

3 wakings every night
2 wakings every night
1 waking every night
3 tantrums a day
2 tantrums a day
1 tantrum a day
Tantrums in the grocery store
Tantrums at the park
Tantrums at the pool
Throwing food on the floor instead of eating it
Refusing to eat pizza
Eating a bag of yogurt melts every day
Refusing to eat without the tv on
Effusive love of Yo Gabba Gabba
The adorable bathtime game where Penny put hats on all her toys, kissed them all, and put them to bed
Pooping in diapers
Hitting friends instead of sharing
Going to sleep with a bottle
Going to sleep only after 3 songs, 3 stories and 40 minutes of rocking
Refusal to get dressed
Refusal to wear a coat
Refusal to wear a hat
Throwing things out of the stroller
Refusal to get in the stroller
Refusal to get in the carseat
Teething

And now the things that I currently think are permanent:

The girls going to bed at different times
Penny needing teddy, 2 lovies, a blanket and a light-up fish to go to sleep
Mabel needing nothing but her thumb
Asking Penny 5 times to take each bite of food
Asking Penny 5 times to get in the bath, brush her teeth, put on her pj's, and put her toys away
Attack hugs from Penny
Sweet, smiley tantrum-free baby Mabel

So I guess the lesson here is twofold.

1. The bad things that are happening now are not going to last, and they're not your fault as a mom, or your kid's fault in any real way.  They're phases and they'll pass.  Don't despair.

2. The good things that are happening now are not going to last, so love them with all you've got.