I saw a Tiktok video the other day and wished I had saved it. At the time it touched me, but I scrolled on and then it was lost in oblivion. However, since then I’ve kept thinking about it and repeating what I could remember to myself. It’s grown in it’s impact.
I shared with you my struggle over the past few months about feeling time whipping by and watching my kids growing so fast. It creates such an ache. I’ve questioned if we should have more kids (we aren’t) or if this fleeting phase of motherhood is just a natural part of life and to lean into the ache.
This message reframed my thinking and will be something I hold onto. I wish I had it verbatim, but allow me to improvise with the hope of conveying to you the sense of peace it brought to me.
They say we only have 18 summers with our kids.
They say we’ll blink and we’ll miss it.
But let me offer another perspective.
How about we tell people…
If you do it well, if you love them hard and prioritize connection, if you show up when they need you, it is not just 18 summers.
What if I told you that these early years, when you are both young, are creating the basis for a lifetime of love. And that you have the ability to create that.
Right now you are forming the foundation of a love story that will go on.
If you do it well.
That doesn’t mean doing it perfectly, but doing it well, with intention and love.
This might look a little differently to everyone, but creating loving boundaries and guidance, being a safe place, supporting and encouraging, will create an unbreakable bond.
Motherhood isn’t limited to the early years. Motherhood continues until you take your last breath, and your impact will continue on even after that.
So, you have more time. You do. You have so much more time.
And what you’re doing right now, although it might feel fleeting, is building a really solid foundation for all the wonderful years to come.
