It’s kind of like, when you wake up in the middle of the night; and your legs are unfamiliar underneath you, and your eyes are blurry and your brain is a bit foggy. Everything seems mysterious and unknown and even at times scary. You’re trying to gain your footing and feel your way around the night’s nooks, but it takes some time in the deep dark night to find your way. To see. To feel.

But then your eyes adjust to the darkness that surrounded you, and you can make out every single shape with razor focus. And your legs are carrying you without you even knowing now, and your brain seems like it will never shut off. There’s still a little mystery, and a touch of uncertainty lurking in unsuspected corners, but now you feel confident and absolute in your navigation. 

This is growing up. You wish your young and innocent, formative years by and one day POOF! you’re a full blown adult, with a precious baby boy that calls you mommy; and a new house that you find yourself appreciating how it sits on the land and how it looks over a long quiet street. You google-earth the forever wild woods behind your house to check out just how ‘forever’ they are. You care less about the things that really don’t matter anymore: unnecessary remarks, shoddy advice and unwelcomed opinions. And that plan you thought you would stick to is so far gone now, because new adventures found you, and new people breathed life into your soul, and forever friends became for. ever. friends. Your needs are simpler now. Your stress level fluctuates up and down. Your wants are less about things you can buy in a store and more about health and happiness. Your worries are important, but you pray on them and leave it to God and the powers that be to lead you on your course. Your feelings, and the way your heart responds has never been more palpable. (Especially when you’re a mother.) 

It’s in the dark times that we learn the very most. When we have to rely on our other senses to help us through the night. But because of those times and the adjustments we learn to make along the way, we somehow become exactly who we are supposed to be. Some people may not ever like who you are, and that’s ok because this isn’t about them. What someone else thinks of you is a mere glimpse from the outside of who you really are.

So. From me to you, if you’re going through a dark night, I promise there is another side to it, and the other side is beautiful. Even if it’s 4am and you wake up to a puddle of pee and two miniature poops from your beloved dog on your newly washed floors and you need to blog about something to come down from the frustration. My God, is it beautiful.