the two words i live by {guest post at the creative mama}

{Sadie at 4 months old}

I don’t remember a lot about the first few months of Sadie’s life. I’m sure this is normal for new moms. It was a whirl of exhaustion, round-the-clock feedings, hormonal changes, very high highs and very low lows, not to mention recovering from major surgery. It felt like the rug had been pulled out from underneath me and I was just along for the ride.

Looking back through my photos, it’s no surprise that there are very few photos from February and March. I was in the thick of it. Around that time, I started to climb out of the darkness. With my amazing husband by my side and the support of my family, I started to see the light again. Instead of resisting the waves of change, I suddenly felt myself sync up with the waves. Yes, every day brought a new unknown, but I felt like I could handle it better.

The biggest lesson I learned (and am still learning) is that everything is temporary. The good, the bad, and everything in between – it’s all temporary. This lesson can apply to anyone, whether you have children or not. But having a baby certainly intensifies the things we most need to learn. And what I needed to learn was how to let go.

One of the most important things I did as I started to heal was pick up my camera. I may not have much memory of Sadie’s first months, but I have the photos to remind me. There was Sadie’s last bath in the bathroom sink, when she was still small enough to fit. There was the late-night crying, when her daddy rocked her to sleep. There was the first time she felt grass in her hands. There were the heart-warming first smiles. They are all captured in photos. I will be able to look back at them for years to come and remember not only how tiny Sadie was, but also remember the tender heart of the woman behind the camera. And I will know that all of it was “for now.” All of it was fleeting. All of it was beautiful – even when it was painful.

And that is life in a nutshell.

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Today, I’m over at The Creative Mama sharing a guest post all about the two words that have guided me through early motherhood – two words that I live by to this day. (Pssst…I’m also giving away a spot in my upcoming e-course, so make sure to stop by and leave a comment!) I’ve been a huge fan of The Creative Mama for quite some time, so it is a complete honor to be hanging out in their space today!