Four Years a Mom: What I’ve Learned.

My babe turns FOUR today. How? Unsure. I woke up before him this morning, flipped through four years worth of pictures, and thought about all the ways I’ve grown and all the things I’ve learned over the last four years. That list is endless, but four things really stand out to me:

ONE: Balance doesn’t exist. ||

There are one billion and four ways to aspire to have balance in your life, and every single one of them will fail. True balance – between work, friends, your personal desires, your family, your health – there’s no way to show up 100% in every area. There’s just not. So (please listen to this): DO NOT BEAT YOURSELF UP FOR NOT HAVING A BALANCED LIFE. There’s no formula to a balanced life  You just gave to find something that works the best for you.

TWO: The little things are the big things. ||

Extravagant vacations? Those are fun. Giant themed birthday parties? Also fun (ish. Debatable.) But the little things, the pizza for dinner, the quick afternoons at the pool, the staying up late and watching a movie in your pajamas, those are end up being the big things.

THREE: If you actually care about being a good parent, you’re already a good parent. ||

The end. And on that note: There are a million ways to be a good parent. There’s no ONE right way to do it. We’re all just doing our best, and that’s the best we can do.

FOUR: There’s no such thing as a day wasted. ||

Sometimes, I fall into the bed at the end of the day so freaking exhausted, wondering, what the heck did I even accomplish today?! But the last four years have taught me that there’s no such thing as a day wasted. There’s days where you rest – which makes you a better mom. Days where you do things on your own that fill your cup – which makes you a better mom. Days where you have to do the work that has to be done, days where you ignore all the things that need to be done, days that feel like nothing happened. But not one of those days are wasted days.

Cheers to four years and cheers to a life full of a million more lessons.