Fourth Trimester Vacation

"If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast."

• Psalm 139:9-10

Fourth Trimester motherhood feels much like visiting the beach: full of delight and dread. Swimming in the sea so refreshing with salt soothing the skin yet exhausting to navigate currents and tides as well as avoid the terrifying undertow. Similarly with a newborn, the mother navigates the flow of feeding, sleeping and digesting that shifts and exhausts.

Furthermore after even a quick and refreshing dip into the sea, the sand-covered beach coats my wet skin- invading every pore with a gritty texture. Likewise stretch marks and pregnancy fat stick to my body in postpartum which takes time and intention to remove. The vast beauty of the ocean, like the infinite loveliness of a new life provides a view  worth visiting every several years.         

      However, I'd rather reside at a mountain cabin full of hikes to climb with views to marvel at. Raising toddlers and young kids, resembles such an adventure. Mountains of tanturms to climb with a beautiful view of emotional regulation and grit at the top.  The forest features such beautiful sights such as  birds, trees, rocks, and even sometimes waterfalls. However, sometimes nuisances such as mosiquitios or even more dangerous wildlife. such as snakes or bears lurk in the woods. Likewise raising young kids yield lovely moments such as: teaching basic writing, reading and arthimetic, enjoying books together, witnessing siblings play and build, and endless interesting random questions.  Also, young children create such chaos with fighting, yelling, whining and fussing; enough noise to rival the hiss of a rattlesnake or the growl of a bear, and evoke the fight, flight or freeze reaction in an overstimulated parent.  Yet, the wandering in the wilderness of raising young children yields such wonder in me as a mother.

   Thus far in my mothering, I've experienced trips to the beach and mountain, and have  yet to explore the teenager trip. I imagine raising teenagers similar to international travel:full of novel sights and foreign struggles with more experiences and more expenses.

  Yet, for now, my more domestic vacations of visiting the beach with babies and hiking mountains with toddlers and young children, provide  many highs and lows to ride on or hike forward with. Regardless, if you prefer vacationing at the beach or mountains, (mothering babies or toddlers),  you shall overcome any landscape walking in the shadow of the one who created all.