Everything is Temporary

On a cold September morning, I sit here and think about how so many things are temporary. The hot summer days are nearly gone and we now have crisp and cool morning and evening temps. 

I was considering decorating my house for fall, when I had the recognition that if I do that, it will only be for two months and then I will decorate for winter.

Ugh. Winter.

I am pretty sure I am allergic to being cold, so I find myself wanting to resist winter before it has even arrived. But within three months of putting out those winter decorations, I’ll be pulling out spring again, because the cold days are temporary, too.

Here’s what I know, though - if I spend the entire winter waiting for spring, I miss winter.

Because there is goodness in winter. It gives me permission to slow down a little. I feel cozy wrapped up in my bathrobe. I read more books. And on those bitterly cold Montana days when the sun hits the snow just right, the whole ground looks like someone scattered glitter across it. 🤩

I can dislike being cold and still appreciate what belongs specifically to that season.

Maybe that’s part of what I’m recognizing this morning. Knowing something is temporary can help us through the parts we don’t enjoy, while also reminding us to notice what is here before the season changes again.

AN HOUR TO BRUSH TEETH?

I remember when I was "in the trenches" of raising toddlers and how the days were so long. Even just a "simple" nighttime routine of getting ready for bed... why does it take an hour to brush teeth and put jammies on? I'd feel exasperated and frustrated. Then the story and snuggle time would come and I'd feel joyful and so incredibly in love. 

No matter the emotion, it was all temporary. 

I remember so specifically one time my son was in a really crabby mood and probably doing things that I'd asked him not to do. I was allowing his mood and behavior to affect me and I got angry and crabby, too.

Then, all of a sudden, he switched. It was like a light bulb turned on and suddenly he was happy, and fun and wanting to play. I remember saying to myself "How does he do that? How does he suddenly switch, like the rest of the morning never happened? I don't down shift that fast." 

I still think about that morning with my son because there was something so simple in the way he moved on. He was done being mad. The moment had passed, so he went with it. Meanwhile, I was still carrying the emotional residue of a moment that technically didn’t exist anymore.

How often do we do that?

We carry this morning into this afternoon. Yesterday into today. One difficult conversation into the next interaction. We feel sadness and wonder when it will end. We feel overwhelmed and somehow convince ourselves that life will always feel this overwhelming.

And then something changes.

Sometimes the circumstances change. Sometimes our mood changes. Sometimes we wake up one morning and realize that the thing that once consumed so much of our mental and emotional energy barely crosses our mind anymore.

EVERYTHING IS TEMPORARY (Even the three pairs of shoes sitting just outside the shoe closet.)

There is something comforting about remembering that when life feels heavy. This feeling will move. This season will change. You will not always be standing in exactly the place you are standing today.

And I think it's equally important to remember that when life feels really, really good.

Maybe temporary doesn’t have to mean hurry up and enjoy it before it’s gone. Maybe it simply reminds us to actually be here while it’s here.

The crisp September morning.

The kid who still wants you to read one more story.

The belly laugh.

The frustration.

The excitement.

The sadness.

The season you wish would hurry up and pass and the season you wish you could somehow make stay.

It all moves.

So maybe the question isn’t always, “How do I make this feeling go away?” Sometimes the question is, “Can I allow this moment to be what it is, knowing it will change?”

A few questions to sit with

• What feels permanent in my life right now that may actually be temporary?

• Is there an emotion or experience I am continuing to carry even though the moment that created it has already passed?

• What season of my life am I currently in?

• Is there something about this season I might someday miss?

• And perhaps most importantly: What would change if I trusted myself to experience what I’m feeling without needing to know exactly when it will change?

Because it will.

The leaves will turn. Winter will come. Spring will follow.

And apparently, at some point, children even learn to brush their teeth and put their pajamas on without it taking an entire hour. 😉