Where I live, fall (autumn) season has begun. The weather is getting cooler; the leaves are changing into beautiful yellow and red colours; days are getting shorter and the sun sets earlier. I love experiencing the change of seasons, more so because where I grew up, in India, the season changes weren’t so distinct. It was really warm, warmer, and warmest. Well, actually, this isn’t the “season” that I set out to blog about. Recently, I have been thinking about the seasons of life.

I woke up this morning to find a neat living room, thanks to my husband who had taken the extra effort to clean it up before going to bed last night. However, it didn’t last too long. In a couple of hours, our kids woke up. Just as I came out of the kitchen, all the while keeping an eye on the kids, our home was nothing close to clean. There were toys scattered on the living room floor, a box of cereal was emptied on the dining table by our toddler son, the kitchen was full of dirty dishes. I was commenting to my husband on the condition of our house, and telling him that it couldn’t probably get any worse. Just before I could finish my sentence, our toddler son drags the bed sheets from the bedroom to the living room, as if to prove me wrong. So, that paints a picture of my season of life – being a mom of two boys under the age of 3. The chunk of my day is spent supervising them. Supervising? Sometimes, that’s how it feels, but really I want to raise them. I don’t want to merely get through the day with as less chaos as possible. In other words, I am learning not to just embrace this phase, but also seize this season.

It could be a few short years before both our kids are in school. Then, they would get busy with their activities and classes. By the time they are done with schooling, they would be independent individuals who don’t anymore want to cuddle with papa and mama. Alright, I realize I have a long long way to go before I get to that season. But I hope you get my point. Thinking in that terms, I believe the first three years of a child’s life is the best phase to spend focused time with them. That led me to the decision to stay at home with the kids and raise them. That said, ‘stay-at-home mom’ need not be my title for life! I am just trying to flow with the seasonal changes. You would agree that there are pros and cons for each season. Some seasons are the best, so good that we wish they last longer. Some are really hard ones, so good that there seems to be nothing good about that season. Whatever the case, here’s the good thing about seasons – they change.

We probably can’t do much to fast forward to the next phase, but the decision is mine and yours to enjoy the season we are in.

Your Turn

What is your season of life? If you are all in to seize your season, here’s a little help. Try to identify what is unique about your season. For example, mine is a time of exploring and learning with my kids all over again. I was never a fan of arts and crafts. But because my son enjoys them, we do crafts together and my creative side gets some exercise. How best can you take advantage of your current situation? Feel free to leave your thoughts in the ‘Comments’
section.