It’s All Relative

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It’s all relative, and it took my BOB Stroller to help me finally come to this realization.

Today is Ryan’s birthday. He’s 21 all over again, so the day is sure to be a wonderful one for him! As of 1pm yesterday I still did not have his birthday gifts. Go figure. I’m the worst at this. I always have been, and I probably always will be.

When the babies woke up, we headed to the mall. Typically, when I go to the mall alone it’s only to go to Target. In that case, Isaiah sits in the front of the red cart, Samarah in the back. But since we needed to peruse the whole mall, I needed another option that didn’t involve the handy red cart.

We have a Double BOB Stroller, but I could not fathom the thought of lugging it to the mall while trying to maneuver in stores with it. If you’ve never seen it, it’s super wide. Does it make for an awesome active stroller? Yes. But for the coffee shop, mall, etc? No. So instead, I brought our single BOB Stroller. Samarah would sit in the stroller and I would carry Isaiah in my Ergobaby.

It’s currently hotter than a hundred cups of coffee, so as I placed Isaiah in the Ergo, I instantly began sweating in the parking lot. I put Samarah in the stroller and we headed for the mall. As I started pushing the stroller, I realized that, despite the heat and the added weight of carrying Isaiah, this was easy.

Here’s the thing. I rarely use the single BOB anymore because we are always out and about with the double BOB. Yesterday was the first time in a long time for using the single. Before Isaiah, I always thought the single was bulky and heavy. Pushing it yesterday felt like a breeze. It was easy.

It’s All Relative

Last night I couldn’t help but think of all the things we think are so hard, until something becomes even harder, at which point the initial struggle seems easy.

And in this, I thought about how struggles, pains, and even victories are all relative.

What is one person’s celebration, is another’s everyday occurrence.

What is stressful to one, is easy for another.

At the time, going from one child to two seemed hard. Currently, that seems like cake. Those who have seven children look at me like, “She has it easy.” (Then again, I’d nod my head and say, “Yes, it’s just called life.”)

Upon being diagnosed with Colitis, I was so scared. Adding SIBO, adrenal fatigue and a sluggish thyroid to the mix now makes the single Colitis almost desirable. But to someone who is faced with a life-threatening disease, these are merely bumps in the road.

One year after not conceiving is sad. But then two, three and four years is draining, and you think, “Why didn’t I just enjoy life more during that first year?” To someone who has lost a child or who never finds themselves with child, no matter how that child might come, a few years of waiting is nothing in the grand scheme of things.

Along the way, and whatever your “thing” might be, it’s okay to feel all the feels. Our circumstances at any given moment do not define us nor do they define our relationship with anyone else.

They define those moments, relative to that season of life.

Later that night, at Samarah’s bedtime, I returned her to her room 6 times (ever since Minnesota she has struggled with going to bed, crying, and breaking my heart). Most nights during this past week, it has been upwards of 10 times (Ryan did most of those). When I finally saw her sweet face lay down and fall asleep I felt thankful. She did it in so much less time than before. I too laid down and thought – yup, it’s all relative.

And for the record, yes we successfully got Ryan several birthday gifts. {Happy Birthday….we love you more than 18 buckets of Coldstone, which is gross, so instead let’s go to CREAM!}

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Xox,
SKH