All In

No one quite prepares you for the shit-show that is parenting. How completely humbling the entire experience is- and often. Just when you think you have it together, something happens to remind you that you certainly do not. It’s an all-in experience: all the love, the frustration, the joy, the sadness, the gratitude, the grit, the perseverance, the devotion, the commitment. 

All. In. 

And, it changes you because it exposes your edges, your immense capacity, your triggers, your willingness to try again, your brokenness, your courage, your bravery. 

It’s beautiful, hard, perfectly messy, all-encompassing. Duality at its finest:

Light/dark;

Connection/Disconnection;

Love/Indifference;

Capacity/Helplessness;

Accomplishment/Humility. 

It breaks us and evolves us. It pushes us to our edge and expands our understanding of how far we can go. It leaves us mired in the muck and frees us to create new pathways. 

It is complex and simple, frustrating and rewarding, painful and hope-filled, ugly and beautiful: a microcosm of the macrocosm that is relational existence. 

Yet, despite the hard, we keep showing up, because this is love and this is who we are. It’s a choice to dig deep, and try again. It stretches us in the most profound way and reminds us of how truly resilient we are. 

Growth in real time. 

The opportunity to see what we are truly made of.

The conscious, deliberate choice to keep our hearts open and align with love. 

This is, ultimately, the journey. The thing we said yes to when we chose this experience.

And we wouldn’t trade it for the world, but somedays we want to and that’s ok, too.