'treasure every moment' vs 'this too shall pass'

[susannahmoodie]

Aibu to think that parenting is a constant state of tension between not wanting to wish the time away but at the same soon exactly that? And then feeling guilty that I'm not 'treasuring every moment' like everyone told me to when they were born?

Some moments simply aren't worth treasuring! There are lovely ones in there, but there's a helluva lot more tedious drudgery and anyone who says different is lying. Or a saint!

I like the saying that in parenthood the days are long but the years are short. I am often counting the minutes until bedtime while wondering how my tiny baby is now a threenager with attitude.

yy to "days are long but the years are short".

I think "this too shall pass" is a neutral statement. The cuddly moments and the baby giggles pass just as certainly as teething or colic or whatever.

I dont think you can treasure every moment, things phase out gradually, you dont treasure holding the hand of your child every day at the time, but when you realise its been a long time since they wanted to hold your hand, you wish you had treasured it more. sadley you dont know what you'll miss until its gone.

Not unreasonable at all. I love all of my 6 DC, but my youngest is 16 - I can see the light at the end of the long 30 year tunnel!
Watching my youngest 2 walking back together after DS graduated High School was one of the treasured moments, listening to them fighting over who emptied the dishwasher last was a this shall pass moment!

I think some pieces of advice are impossible to follow. "Treasure every moment is one of them." How exactly do you do that if you're just feeling tired, fed up and wishing your kids would go to sleep so you can settle down with the paper?

Other useless pieces of advice include, "Don't let it get to you - just move on", "Don't show the dog you're frightened, as he can smell your fear" and "If you relax and stop trying to conceive, you'll probably conceive."