“Time” is something we all love talking about. “Wow, time is flying” or “I can’t believe it’s already {insert: season, date, event}” are common phrases we hear and say ourselves. Some people beg time to slow down, while others beg it to speed up. When big events or life milestones arrive, time is often on our minds. “Remember this time last year,” for example.
Today marks a milestone in my pregnancy. Today, I am 9 months pregnant! Insert “final countdown” by Europe, which I have been singing all weekend. This past weekend, to mark the final countdown of my pregnancy, my mother and sister threw me a baby shower. If you’re a long time Monday Dieter reader you know that my journey to have my first child started almost 3 years ago. Time was on my mind this weekend as I thought about the amount of time that has passed since the very first time my husband and I found out we were expecting.
As I was getting dressed for my shower Saturday morning, I took some time to be silent, thankful and reflect on mine and my husbands own personal journey. As I’ve done many times in the past 9 months. At this point in our journey I am so happy to be here that when I look back on the road we traveled to get here, it all feels manageable and ok. The journey, although in the thick of it, felt hard, now I look back with a sense of peace. And the journey feels smoother than I remembered it. It’s hard to recall the bumps, the roadblocks and the times we had to get out and push ourselves out of the mud. It’s hard to fully recall them with clarity because we’ve reached our destination and with gratitude we know that the last three years are bringing us the little girl we’ll be welcoming in a short amount of time.
I think we can all look back at times like this in our lives and learn from them. If we let them, they can actually help us in the present and future. It’s important to reflect on these times. All of the times of trials and tribulations that felt SO difficult in the moment make us who we are today. Maybe your tough time lasted 1 day, maybe 3 years, maybe it’s still there… no matter how long it’s been for you, it felt or feels like an eternity in the moment. The truth is, all the times we felt like we’d never get through, we’re through. The times we felt like we’d never get over something, we’ve gracefully managed to learn to live with. If we keep these times close to us, we can better manage the hard times to come. They serve as a reminder that “this too shall pass.” This too will be something I am strong enough to endure.
When we let these memories and these realities become our source of comfort we can manage the hard times to come without emotionally eating. The memory of the fact that we’ve gotten through something hard once can be there to numb pain, not a bag of chips. Every time things in life get hard or feel helpless, I often reach for food. But knowing I can get through hard times because I’ve done it before helps me see that I don’t need the food to numb my pain or stress, I just need some time. The best part, this is a principle we can all try to practice in life’s big trials and the small day to day stresses that hit us.
Happy Monday <3
Here are scenes from my beautiful, perfectly purple, perfectly produced baby shower.
