We don’t have to pretend it’s not hard to celebrate that it’s still good.

We’re in that sweet spot now. Our kids are sandwiched in that magical time between 5 and 10. Everyone’s old enough to be sleeping in their own bed (well, most of the time) and wiping their own butts (ok, most of the time). They feed themselves and can even prepare food for themselves. They are old enough to be pretty independent and young enough to not be too burdened by the overwhelming emotions of puberty.

And yet, this past year has been one of our hardest years of parenting. Just as we started to relax into the freedom we gained from not having to pack diaper bags or drag along strollers, new issues started demanding our attention that were beyond our parenting knowledge and experience.

I know that there are different phases of family life and that there are different challenges and perks that come with each of them, but I wasn’t expecting this phase to be quite so demanding. Early parenthood left me physically exhausted from all the breastfeeding, rocking, diaper changing, feeding, dressing, playing, and supervising. While the immediate daily caregiving needs lessened in most ways, the way the kids need me now has evolved in more complicated and unexpected ways. This phase has left me with an emotional exhaustion that no amount of self care can manage and no late night google searches can solve. I’ve had to let go of a lot of expectations and ask for plenty of help. I’ve had to find acceptance.

This is where we are at the moment. It feels big and hard to navigate now, but we’re figuring it out. The challenges create opportunities to expand our understanding, practice empathy, and build resilience as a family.

We’re not going to always get it right, but we’re doing the best we can.

And we don't have to pretend it's not hard to celebrate that it's still good. And it’s still so very good.

I’m incredibly grateful for my dear friend Anda Marie for capturing these ordinary fragments and moments of who we were in April of 2022.