I woke up one morning and realized that a particularly distressing season in our home had finally ebbed.
My three-year-old daughter had a small procedure done and, for weeks, she was waking every couple of hours at night crying in pain.
And then one morning, I realized: we all slept.
I stopped.
Because while we were in it, it had felt like it was never going to end. Like whatever forever feels like.
I remember thinking, we’re never going to be okay again.
The brain does that. When we’re deeply distressed, our emotional brain can take over. In that state, it becomes hard to access perspective, time, or the reminder that things change.
All we know is what we feel right now. So of course it can feel like forever.
That morning, what got me was the realization: oh. It passed. We’re here.
So much of life is seasonal. The cold turns to warmth. The wound heals. The heartache softens. The baby starts to sleep.
But when we’re inside the hard part, it rarely feels temporary. Relate at all? There’s actually a reason for that.
So what helps? Sometimes, it’s simply bringing a little perspective back online.
That morning, in the middle of the usual rush, I paused. I took a breath in, held it for a moment, and let out a long exhale. My shoulders softened. My jaw unclenched.
I let myself notice the relief of having arrived here. And I named it: this season has passed.
I tried to hold onto that moment — not because I expected life to stay easy, but because I knew another hard season would come. And, of course, it did.
But now I had something to reach for in the middle of the wave: a breath, a memory, a phrase. This season will also pass. And somehow, that made it all feel a little more manageable.
Shira Aminov, LCSW
