Three-year-olds get a bad rap sometimes. Granted, for good reason, they are often dramatic, defiant, loud, and unpredictable. However, as I reflected on some of the traits of my little girl, I started to flip my perspective and consider all the positive aspects of three. I thought of the times that I have watched her in awe and I began to wonder what my life would be like if I took on some of the positive characteristics of my three-year-old daughter.
Hope has brought renewed opportunities to reflect on and process the past season; to leave the lonely routines of COVID uncertainty and create new rhythms of joy and hope.
As a stay-at-home parent, some of the biggest stresses for me throughout this pandemic have been adjusting to a wide-open schedule, concurrently fulfilling multiple roles, and dealing with a perpetual avalanche of thoughts and emotions.
Even as an adult, I have found that many children’s books offer gentle, hope-filled reminders that I need in my own life.
This year, my perspective on my process of setting goals and intentions has changed. My expectations of 2021 are reflective of the fact that we are still navigating this global pandemic. But, this acceptance brings a hope of setting realistic expectations, living daily with intention, and dreaming about what I want to carry with me into the future.
Although Christmas celebrations will look different than years past, the beauty, sounds, and tastes of the holidays remind me of life before the upheaval of 2020. In addition, I have found comfort in the celebration of Jesus’s birth and the reminder that 2020 is just a drop in the bucket of time.
Thankfulness that is punctured by sadness can still have a sense of peace and gratitude woven throughout.
Fearless. Although I endlessly wish she would exercise more caution, or at least have some instinct towards self-preservation, I am also jealous of her fearlessness, her ability to throw caution to the wind and set forth on any and every adventure she desires.
There will be more times where I’ll wish to simply “skip tomorrow,” but I can take comfort knowing that through it all, I will not be alone.
the unexpected ever afters 