“Kelly, this is just a season in your life.” I seem to be telling myself this a lot lately. The stress of having a 3 1/2 year old and a 15 month old is hard enough. Molars are coming in, Livia is getting taller or maybe the counters are getting shorter, the terrible 2’s are already starting, bills are piling up, cars need fixed, the dryer broke yesterday, dr’s appointments are more frequent, and temper tantrums are happening everywhere I go. Add to that the underlying worry of Livia’s situation. I can’t just make it go away. I worry about Jake and his job. He has so much stress during the year. I hate to hear him cry and hear how sad he is about Livia. It breaks my heart. Times like this I crave my family. This is so hard to go through being so far away. Everyone has stress and I feel guilty even writing about this. At times, it feels impossible. How do people survive these times? I pray about it and I do keep my faith. However, worldly factors sometimes get in the way. I wouldn’t trade my life for anything. All of this “stuff” aside. I get to love and experience my kids. Being a mom and dad is so hard, but it’s a blessing. “It’s better to have loved………….” I repeat this to myself almost daily, but I don’t say the entire quote. I tell myself this because in the end I want to know that all my effort was put into loving my girls. Ultimately, nothing else matters. Yes, we have to take care of our responsibilities and do what is right. But in the end I want to look back and be happy; not mad, stressed, full of what-if’s. This season in my life is a hard one. I have to just recognize that and try to make the best of it. Tomorrow is a new day, however, today is not over and there are still lots of minutes left to make it a good one.