I Beg Your Pardon...

"Along with the sunshine, there's gotta' be a little rain sometimes..."

This line is from one of my mom's favorite songs, I Never Promised You a Rose Garden.  And it's true: There are ups and downs with everything and I believe expectations play a large role in how you handle life.

Its been a rough week, but in the grand scheme of things its a blip on the radar.  You (cautiously) think you have everything figured out and you're getting eight hours sleep every night for the last several weeks, but then there comes a week in which your child has a clogged nose and beckons you at 11:30p, 4:30a, 5:30a for comfort and you must respond to the call, bleary-eyed but ready to serve. Your boobs are in pain from the influx of additional (and aggressive) nursing sessions by a frustrated baby.  Instead of usual naptime, the schedule is askew and you realize baby (nor you) will catch up on sleep for quite some time.  You are frustrated, your spouse becomes frustrated/disappointed that you're frustrated and you become frustrated at yourself and momentarily lose confidence in what you are doing. But its all okay, because you know there highs and lows in life and everything just takes a little time to get on even keel again.

But still, its weeks like this where I miss my mom especially.  Really for the selfish reason that I miss calling her and letting some of my tears finally flow, and to hear her softly say "Oh, Katherine... I know, honey." Because she would know. And that minimal reply would have an ever-so-slight undertone of "...but you'll make it through it just fine." And I do.