Five lessons I learned in my first year as a mother

Palm Coast Observer
Opinion

Thursday, March 12, is my son, Elijah's, first birthday. These 366 days went by so fast. There are so many life lessons I have learned since this journey began. Here are my top 5:

5. Be present. He will not be little forever. I know it sounds so cliche, but it's the truth. Every night when I lay him down to bed and look over each little feature, they seem to have grown from the night before. One day he won't need me to carry him to bed, so I will savor the moments he does now.

4. You can fall in love more than once with the same person. Watching my husband become a dad was one of the most amazing experiences in my life. I truly would not have been able to make it through this year without Brady. Running a business together while also going through your first year as parents is tough. He has been a true partner in every sense of the word, and I am forever grateful for that.

3. Practice gratitude daily. Being a mom is single handedly the most challenging thing I have ever done. Then add the day-to-day stress from work and life. It is so important to stay positive, and I do this by practicing gratitude and meditating daily. I write down five things that I am thankful for every single day. This has created a habit of me constantly looking for things to be grateful for. When you surround yourself with gratitude, it's hard to have a bad day.

2. Work will always be there. This is something I struggle with now, as I truly love my career. There will always be more business to chase and hours to work. This boy will only be little once, and I want to be around for it.

1. Give yourself grace. You have not only survived childbirth, also the first year of your baby's life! You may not be in the size clothing you were before or be running that 5k time you used to; however, you did create life. and that's something to be proud of! This working mama thing is no joke! Love yourself — even when it's hard. You're doing amazing!

Thank you for spending some time with me. I am now going to push pause on work for an hour and head to the beach to play in the sand with that little boy of mine.

Email Megan Farrell at [email protected].