Dear frazzled mom who needs this right now: I see you and I know what you need. It’s the mom-life mantra I have embraced and it changes my perspective in an instant. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still frazzled my fair share of days but my go-to mantra usually smoothes out the stress.
So what is this magical mantra? This will be funny later. That’s it. Because here’s the thing: This is almost always true. The thing that has you closing your eyes and counting to 10 as you try to calm down will be the story you share while laughing with a mom friend in a week or a month or a few years.
You may need some caffeine, or wine, or a nap to go along with it, but I promise you reciting that mantra will help shift your perspective in challenging times.
For example, maybe you accidentally shout a word you wouldn’t normally use around little ears as you battle traffic your way to Ikea. And rather than remembering all the nursery rhymes you sang over and over and over during the drive, your child decides to repeat that one bad word over and over and over as you walk through Ikea. Because of course. Just repeat after me: This will be funny later.
I felt like mom of the year that day, y’all. I thought I would never get us out of Ikea. I was so embarrassed in the moment but I just reminded myself: This will be funny later.
Or perhaps one morning your toddler watched from his high chair as you sat down to nurse the baby. Maybe in the brief time it took you to pick up the baby and get her latched, your toddler blew out his diaper, stuck both hands in it, unhooked his harness and stood up in his high chair while shouting, “Mommy! I sticky! Yuck!” This experience is not funny in the moment. But this will be funny later.
Y’all, that was not funny right away. My baby was crying after her meal was suddenly interrupted and my toddler was trying to grab my face and my hair as I carried him straight to the bath. It was stressful and messy and exhausting. But even by that evening as I shared the story with my husband, it was already funny to me. Still super gross. But also funny.
I have shared that story in solidarity with mom friends over the years who have been through their own messy experiences. Looking back on this, I not only find it funny but it also makes me really appreciate being past the diaper years. Perspective, y’all.
It is the truth universally acknowledged that everyone becomes a parenting expert the moment they find out they’re going to be a mom, right? I try not to give unsolicited advice to mom friends but I do find myself offering up this mantra to many friends, usually as their babies are reaching toddlerhood.
“This will be funny later” has been a game-changer for me. It reminds me to look for the humor whenever I’m feeling momentarily overwhelmed or frustrated. It also reminds me that all these moments are fleeting and these phases won’t last. But the stories will. This will be funny later.
