The days are long...

Our family on Mother's Day at Phipps Conservatory. Photo by my sister.

A few weeks ago, I read an apparently popular description of parenting: "The days are long but the years are short." I'm not sure from where the quote originated. I just know that although I had heard it prior to becoming a parent, I never really got it until now.

I've been a mom for nearly six months. I blinked and suddenly five months elapsed. But it also sometimes feels like I've known Emilia my whole life. While I am still myself and I maintain many of the same interests, desires, and goals, my life is so so different from who I was before her. My priorities are changing. The ways I use and divide my time have shifted. My body is different. My sleep schedule is different. My brain seems a little different. And of course, my days are very different.

To be sure, some of my days are difficult. Some days I long for the mundane ease of so many things I took for granted. But most days I don't have many opportunities to dwell on that subject. When I talk to seasoned moms about how I've adjusted, I say that motherhood is both much harder and thankfully much better than I ever imagined.

The days are long but the months/years are short.