You will be glad
One day you will see a photo of them looking so impossibly small in the field or the yard or on the stage or at the park maybe it’s the fair the beach the racetrack
And you will be glad
You’ll be glad you navigated dinner and homework and baths around games and practice when you kind of didn’t want to because it was such a pain
You will be glad you scrimped to buy the gear and pay the registration fee
You will be glad you bought the ticket
You went to the park
You turned on the sprinkler
Even when you had a bad day and the bank account was negative and the world was on fire and the loved one was sick and work was killing you
You’ll be glad you volunteered to chaperone to lead the troop to teach VBS
You’ll be glad you packed the bags and slathered the sunscreen
Because one day, one impossibly soon day
You will be hanging the cap and gown to let the wrinkles fall out before they walk across the stage
You’ll be taking their toys and cleats to consignment stores and donation bins
And you will just be so glad you got to be there for it.
–
And you’ll be glad you had those nights out
That book club, game night, trip out of town, drinking around fire, date nights, concerts, ballgames, coffee shops
All the places you got to refill your cup
And be yourself and love your friends
Because it’s all so precious
—-
And you’ll be glad for every family holiday food planning group chat where you once again decide to eat and bring the same things as last year
And every phone call to be tech support
And every group photo someone insists on taking that takes too long to get everyone looking at the camera and in the frame
Because these things don’t last forever
Even though they seem like they’ve always been
—
And you’ll be glad for all the prayers and devotion apps and attempts at meditation and journal entries and hymns
For all the ways you reached out to the divine and all the times you cracked open to receive
Because it got you here, it kept you here
—
And you are here
Amongst the light dancing in the trees
and you chose to build a life you’ll be glad of
