Beyond the Honeymoon Stage

I LOVE Fridays; not because it is actually Friday, which definitely is a plus.  I love it because my daughter is in afternoon school and my little one naps.  I sit here for 2 hours and catch up on TV.  I get to watch Grey’s Anatomy in peace.  Sweet heaven.  It makes me OH…SO HAPPY! 

I’m trying to think of all the things that make me happy right now.  It has been a rough month.  It started with a Christmas double ear infection.  Fa la la la laaaaaa… and ended with my husband passing out on the train ride home and getting rushed to the hospital, (He was victim to the stomach virus) and my 18 month old spiking a high fever.   La la la laaaaaaaaaaaa… 

I sent my husband a text this morning as my 18 month old is still cranky from…well…whatever she is cranky about: teeth, getting over a fever, boredom, cabin fever, LIFE IN GENERAL…who knows.

I texted, “I will not survive today.” 

The truth is I will survive this and the reality is that it is not that big a deal.  People have been doing this for centuries and centuries, motherhood that is.  But, I am fairly new to this.  I mean, it has been 3 ½ years.  I’m out of the honeymoon stage of child rearing now and entering the “this is the way it is” stage.

Remember the honeymoon stage?!  Maybe some of you are there now.  It is so wonderful.  The magical moment your 3 month old rolls over for the first time and everyone claps and jumps.  You cannot believe the little miracle you created is now rolling over all on his/her own.  It is the first sign of independence.  How wonderful?!

FLASHFORWARD: 3 ½ years and 2 kids later….my 18 month is crying in her high chair because I am not getting breakfast to her fast enough and my 3 ½ is rolling around the floor on her back.  Reality.  “This is the way it is,” stage.  Welcome Noreen.  Don’t get me wrong, it is not a bad place.  It can also be called “Everyday Life.”  There are still mini miracles wrapped up like presents throughout the day.  Like when my 2 girls hug one another or when my 18 month old babbles away, or maybe when my 3 ½ year old makes me laugh hysterically with a random thought or antic.  It is all good…no…great.  Everyday life is great.  But, it is also hard.  There is no easy day beyond the honeymoon stage.  Reality has eggs crusted to the floor.  Reality has tantrums.  Reality has nap strikes.  Reality has broken figurines.  And that is just today.  Ha! 

I guess sometimes I wish life can always stay in the honeymoon stage.  Not just in motherhood but in everything: the new house, the new job, the wedding, the 3 month old rolling over.  Magical.  But, life after the honeymoon stage is where we all set up shop for the long haul.  We reside here.  And, it makes me realize that is it a better place to be, because everything is multifaceted.   The highs and lows of life are complicated but not necessarily a bad thing.  They shape us.  And, they are there to remind us to strap on our blinders, (at times) value the little bit of magic in the “everyday,” and remember that reality is constantly changing and evolving.  What is gone is gone forever, but what is here is now and it can be beautiful.  (I say while sipping a latte, feet up, watching Cougar Town). Magical.

-5 pounds total