If you happen to have children that are young babies and toddlers, I just wanted to give some quick encouragement.  Life and parenting does indeed get easier as they get older.  Particularly, travel to our delight and relief has become simpler, more manageable, and a whole lot less stressful.

This story isn’t specific to travel, but it’s something that’s stuck with me.  While so many moments have been lost in the fog of early parenthood, I’ll never forget the lunch Slaed and I had at Chipotle when Bergen was a newborn.  Simple and easy in theory.  However, with a baby just a few days old, a lot harder than we were used to.  Now instead of just deciding what to add to our burrito bowl, we were dealing with sleep deprivation, loss of personal time, and just the general stress of keeping a tiny person alive!

We were fiddling around with setting up Bergen’s carseat on a high chair.  He’d fallen asleep in the car, so we were trying our best to keep it that way, and at the same time keep an eye on him.  We were clearly struggling, and another mom sitting nearby with her toddler looked over to us, and said,

“It doesn’t get any easier.”

What?

Even in our state of lethargy and lack of experience as parents, I knew in my heart that her statement just wasn’t true.  Maybe she meant it in a camaraderie sort of way.  As in, “Hey–none of us have this together and we’re all doing the best we can.  Don’t feel bad!”.

But still.

Regardless, her comment stood out.   I’m glad I didn’t take it seriously, but it has always been something I’ve thought about over the years. Part of me wishes I could go back and chat with her.

Parents, (grandparents, brothers, sisters, aunts and uncles) let’s build each other up and spread some positivity!  No need for doom and gloom here.  We’ve got this.

It DOES get easier.  If you’ve heard it doesn’t get any easier, please know that statement is simply not true.  Because of this mom’s comment, I feel an obligation to share with other parents that your children are not newborns forever.  They are not toddlers forever.  They are not three-nagers forever!

There are seasons and changes.  Needs change.  You learn how to best take care of your child, and you gain confidence.  Of course we never figure it all out completely and when we think we have, our kids go and change on us. We can adapt, and grow right along side our children.

Most recently, to give you a concrete example, we realized that flying with kids is not always going to be so overwhelmingly demanding, stressful, and exhausting.  Our flight to Phoenix last month felt like a breath of fresh air.  We were giddy upon arrival at the noticeable difference.

• The gear! There’s less gear to pack and haul around.

• Responsibility! The kids can walk themselves onto the plane and throughout the terminal, AND begin to carry their own bags.

• More Self-Sufficiency! There’s less worry of needing to entertain and appease a little person. I didn’t even feel like I needed to wait with Georgia to board last, which was something we did when the kids were babies and toddlers to minimize time on the plane. 

While we are not out of the woods completely (our youngest is still 3 years old), we saw the light at the end of the tunnel, and it was glorious!  Yes, things like tablets, apps, and shows help, but as kids get older, they gain independence.  The more we continue to travel, the more they get the hang of the rhythms and routines.  While it’s still exciting to hop aboard a plane, they know the drill!

Parenting is hard, messy, and full of challenges, but we are not stuck.  Let’s do ourselves and our fellow moms, dads, and caregivers a favor:

Spread Love, Give Hope, Provide Inspiration!

Share a recent victory you’ve had traveling with kids!

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