Dessert: the sweet course eaten at the end of a meal.
After three courses, we were full. Our house was full. Our calendars were full. Our hands were full.
But like all big meals, you realize after some time, you can definitely make room for a a little dessert.
I had just sent my baby to kindergarten and enjoyed a full year of no kids in the house seven peaceful hours – allowing my husband and I to work from home, stress-free. We had experienced almost four glorious years of no diapers. We’d sold a lot of our baby items. But we both felt (though not without years of going back and forth), that there was a chair at the dining room table that just felt empty.
We had to work hard for our fourth baby and the road was riddled with doubt and grief. But last August, she arrived — healthy and delicious.
We’re lucky that she is a happy, and generally laidback girl. We have both remarked during the last few months that we forgot that you can actually enjoy the baby stage. I get her all to myself during school hours. Her smiles, giggles and inquisitive eyes are the sweet ending to this stage of motherhood that I craved.
This time, being certain she is our last course, I am intentional about my time — memorizing her baby features and believing in the “this won’t last” mantra I invoke in my exhausted state.
I was one of the few with a young infant in my arms at middle school orientation for my oldest. My poor hips having carried and birthed four babies are sore and require frequent physical therapy. I store diapers and wipes in my trunk because my brain has no space to remember to bring a diaper bag to baseball practice.
There is a peace in my heart this time around. I know I will always crave one more. That’s how it goes with dessert, right? I’d always make room for one more bite. But, I know I’m really full this time, and it’s time to embrace the next meal.
