Just when you think it will never be over, it is.

Those difficult phases in your life when you think things will always be this way. As a young mom with two babies, I was once asked what I wanted for my birthday.

“Eight hours of consecutive sleep,” was my response.

I was serious.

It makes me laugh today, as I can get that pretty much any time I want now. But back then, sleep was as precious as gold.

We all go through phases — anyone who has observed the growth of a child knows how rapidly those phases come and go. Later we get set in our ways and change seems less inevitable. Yet change is a part of our lives – every day. No matter our age, things change. And we are often shocked by it.

Fashion is a great example of how what we used to think was cool is now just embarrassing. Shoulder pads and thick eyebrows are just two things that the 1980s celebrated. Big hair and blue eyeshadow were other must-haves. Today the thought makes me cringe.

Yes, we all go through phases, obsessing about things that mean so much today, but that will soon fade into a distant memory tomorrow.

My friend recently suggested that one day a computer chip will be implanted in our brains so we can remember absolutely everything.

“Remember everything?” I asked. “There are some things I am very happy to forget.”

Imagine being able to relive every phase, including the era of Big Hair and Chinos? Some things are indeed best forgotten!

Each phase builds on the next one, creating the masterpiece that is our lives.

Celebrate the day and the moment you are in. It is exactly where you need to be.

Besides, like the sand flowing through an hour glass, it really is just a phase. This too shall pass.