14 Things Only Moms in Their 40s Understand

You're in deep now.
Things Only Moms in Their 40s Understand
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1. How young your kids' teachers look.

2. You have zero time or energy for the mommy wars. You've been through too much already to parent by other people's standards.

3. That the energy a 20something mom has is equal to—but different from—the wisdom the older mom brings to the table.

4. Those little mistakes like forgetting to pick your daughter up from soccer practice or sending your son to school without that trip permission slip… they don't matter so much. The kids are turning out great anyway.

5. If your kids are older, you know how much those young moms should cherish babyhood, because one day their children will become teenagers. (But you know that to tell them so will only result in blank stares.)

6. If your kids are little, you're grateful that at least nobody asks the mom with all the grays in her hair, "When are you having another?!"

7. If your kids are babies, you don't join in when other moms complain about never going out, because it's worth it to finally have a baby of your own.

8. You can figure out how sick your child is without WebMD.

9. Sometimes your kid is a jerk. Sometimes you're a jerk. And that's OK. You love each other, and that's what counts.

10. You have a deep appreciation of a child's boundless energy, roughly equal to your exhaustion from that same energy.

11. When you know you're done having kids, watching the ones you have grow up is more beautiful—and more heartbreaking.

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