If there’s one thing I’ve learned about motherhood it is that the second you feel like you’re getting the hang of things… something big is going to shift. And the second you think you can’t handle the overwhelm anymore… you’re about to grow or change or get better—a big lesson is in the works.

They start sleeping through the night, then teething ramps up and that full night’s sleep becomes a distant memory. They start crawling—awww, so cute!—then walking—omg, first steps!—then running—dang, they are busy!—then climbing—umm, remember when I could actually sit down for a second?

Going through a rough patch of tantrums and big feelings? They’re learning something about themselves, and turns out—you’ll learn what you’re made of. Going through a low, lonely point of motherhood? Turns out—you’re learning just how strong you are. Going through a creative burst? Turns out—you’re learning more about the path you’re destined to be on.

Motherhood is all about the unexpected—unexpected firsts that happen more quickly than you thought they would, unexpected moments of sheer bliss like hearing “love. you.” for the first time, unexpected fits of frustration over the littlest things (from them *and* from you), and unexpected ways your life ebbs and flows over time.

When I step back and look at where I’ve been and where I am, I can’t help but think of how wild it all is and how fast it all happened. We’ve been married six years and we have three kids. Sometimes I honestly can’t believe it.

But I’ll tell ya what. I definitely know I’d never trade it. 💓