Easier

The other night we took the kids out to dinner at our favorite Mexican restaurant. Other than the normal issues of trying to get four kids cleaned up and out the door, it was a relatively easy adventure. We are no longer encumbered by car seats or strollers or even high chairs. The girls can get in and out of their booster seats in the car (after being unstrapped of course), and walk in holding our hands. We don't have to bring a diaper bag, or sippy cups, or even bibs. Granted we make several trips to the bathroom for "potty breaks" but that's not much of a hardship. We don't need to feed the girls; we just hand them their quesadillas, fries and their drinks and they handle it pretty much themselves. It's a whole different world from when they were tiny and I was convinced that it would never get easier.

While we were eating I happened to catch a glimpse of a man walking into the restaurant carrying two infant car seats. Twins. The mother came along with another child who was younger than the girls. I felt a pang of relief when I saw them. Relief because I had been that mother, but wasn't anymore. Relief because while things are different now that the girls are older, they are, in a way, easier. Things will continue to get easier as the girls get older. I have my moments when I feel like things are so difficult, and then I see parents with very young twins and I know that I have it so much easier than they do. I wanted to run over to that couple and tell them that it's not always going to be so difficult, but of course I restrained myself. I'm sure people told me that life with multiples would eventually get easier, but it was hard to believe them during the dual nursing sessions, the constant diaper changes, the seemingly endless nights. So while my days now are full of "me do it Mama," I know that it's so much easier than it used to be and that this too shall pass.