Moms Worry and That's That.

I spent a lot of time with my family and my husband's family over the last week and if one thing stood out to me as I was reflecting on Mother's Day, it was that no matter what age your kids are, you'll worry about them.

My sister is pregnant with her first baby, and was worried that the baby might be coming too early when she felt some weird pains in her uterus. (Everything's okay.)

My mom is worried about my 22-year-old brother joining the army. (And so am I.)

My sister-in-law was worried that her 8-year-old daughter would feel comfortable and have fun at her wedding this past weekend. (She had a blast and did an awesome job walking down the aisle for her mom.)

My mother-in-law was worried that her daughter would feel so nervous that she wouldn't enjoy her wedding day. (She was totally composed and enjoyed the entire day.)

And I worry that something will go wrong with our Aiden's eye surgery in less than a month.

Worry, worry, worry! Our days as moms are filled with it, yet we have little to no control over these things. "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry for its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble" (Matthew 6:34). It's so easy to get caught up in what could happen to your children that it becomes more and more difficult to enjoy them as they are now. Worry can easily overwhelm you if you let it because there will never be a time when there is nothing to worry you. (i.e. Just now as I was writing this I was worried that Aiden might break a limb as he climbed to the top of the couch and was about to dive headfirst off the back! I caught him before that happened.)

It's important to find a balance so worry doesn't consume you. For me, a lot of that balance comes from my husband. If he's worried (which I would venture to say is more often than I) I find that I'm calmer; if I'm worried about something, he tends to stay calm. That works for us because we tend to worry about completely different things. Talking things over with someone who's willing to listen can work wonders - whether that's your spouse, a close friend, mom, dad, sibling, coworker . . . Anyone who might have insight into what you're going through or even just to empathize can be very beneficial.

So my goal in these stressful years is to try to focus on the fun, everyday things with our boys, and not worry about every little thing because getting caught up in all those concerns will make me miss out on all the enjoyable things that go along with being a mom.