The Days are Long But the Years are Short
I think we've all heard this phrase somewhere, but most often in the context of the early days, weeks and months of motherhood.
It's natural when you have a small child to notice how quickly the time passes with each growing inch, pound, tooth and milestone. It's pretty mind-blowing how one day things are status quo with your little one and then all of a sudden everything clicks and they're not just sitting, but crawling and then not just walking, but running!
As Henry neared a year, I started to see that glimmer of a day when I'd get myself back. He seemed to be weaning a bit, I could occasionally leave in the evening for a girls night or yoga class before he was in bed, and we were starting to get some pretty solid sleep. Oh and I felt like I could maybe, just maybe start pushing myself in my running to train for something a bit more seriously.
But then 4-6 weeks ago, something happened — teething or sickness, I don't remember. And we've had subpar sleep ever since. Several nights a week, I'm up for an hour at a time in the middle of the night in addition to 1-2 other wake-ups while I (or Pete) try and get him back to sleep. While I can live on 5-6 hours of sleep, my body much prefers 7-8.
So, it's not to dwell on the lack of sleep, but maybe just to remind myself that however tiring, it all goes by so fast. And despite feeling like I could use a nap almost daily, we're having a lot of fun.
And, I have to remind myself that even on the days I pine over the idea of heading off to yoga class or drinking an Americano at my favorite coffee shop, right now, sitting on the floor with my kiddo brings me more happiness than an hour alone often would.
On another note, November is here! For whatever reason, November always feels like fall has officially arrived for me and I start noticing the everyday things I'm thankful for in life.
This month, my goal is to write in my journal daily for a minimum of 5 minutes (keeping the expectations low over here) and jot down both the things I'm thankful for and general life happenings. There's something about saying you only have to do 5 minutes of anything that feels very doable.
On the running front, I've signed up for our local Turkey Stuffer 5K! As a result, I've been inspired to start doing some workouts and push the pace on some of my runs to break out of my usual 3-4 mile slog around the neighborhood.
While I don't usually race with the goal of clocking a PR, having a race on the books inspires me to step up my game, get out of my comfort zone and have something to be working toward. I want to feel strong yet challenged on race day, even if it's not my fastest time at that distance.
Happy fall! What are you looking forward to this month?
It's natural when you have a small child to notice how quickly the time passes with each growing inch, pound, tooth and milestone. It's pretty mind-blowing how one day things are status quo with your little one and then all of a sudden everything clicks and they're not just sitting, but crawling and then not just walking, but running!
As Henry neared a year, I started to see that glimmer of a day when I'd get myself back. He seemed to be weaning a bit, I could occasionally leave in the evening for a girls night or yoga class before he was in bed, and we were starting to get some pretty solid sleep. Oh and I felt like I could maybe, just maybe start pushing myself in my running to train for something a bit more seriously.
But then 4-6 weeks ago, something happened — teething or sickness, I don't remember. And we've had subpar sleep ever since. Several nights a week, I'm up for an hour at a time in the middle of the night in addition to 1-2 other wake-ups while I (or Pete) try and get him back to sleep. While I can live on 5-6 hours of sleep, my body much prefers 7-8.
So, it's not to dwell on the lack of sleep, but maybe just to remind myself that however tiring, it all goes by so fast. And despite feeling like I could use a nap almost daily, we're having a lot of fun.
And, I have to remind myself that even on the days I pine over the idea of heading off to yoga class or drinking an Americano at my favorite coffee shop, right now, sitting on the floor with my kiddo brings me more happiness than an hour alone often would.
On another note, November is here! For whatever reason, November always feels like fall has officially arrived for me and I start noticing the everyday things I'm thankful for in life.
This month, my goal is to write in my journal daily for a minimum of 5 minutes (keeping the expectations low over here) and jot down both the things I'm thankful for and general life happenings. There's something about saying you only have to do 5 minutes of anything that feels very doable.
On the running front, I've signed up for our local Turkey Stuffer 5K! As a result, I've been inspired to start doing some workouts and push the pace on some of my runs to break out of my usual 3-4 mile slog around the neighborhood.
While I don't usually race with the goal of clocking a PR, having a race on the books inspires me to step up my game, get out of my comfort zone and have something to be working toward. I want to feel strong yet challenged on race day, even if it's not my fastest time at that distance.
Happy fall! What are you looking forward to this month?
Comments
In the midwest, November usually = the start of winter. But we are having unseasonably warm weather as it's been in the 60s so I am hoping this weather sticks around. I'm just not ready for snow or cold weather!
Things I'm looking forward to this month are celebrating Thanksgiving at Phil's mom's and then leaving for Spain the following day!! I'm also hoping to watch 1-2 of the new Gilmore Girls episodes that will be released the day I leave for Spain. I love that show and can't wait to see where the characters are now!
Also looking forward to a 5K Turkey Trot this month. SO MUCH shorter than 26.2! ;)
I'm sorry to hear that about Henry's sleep! I hope he starts sleeping through the night soon. Some people just seem to luck out with kids that sleep really well or don't. He is such a little cutie, I can completely see why spending an hour on the floor with him brings you so much happiness and joy :)