In college I took psych classes and volunteered at a senior daycare for people with dementia. One of the things we learned is that for most women, the happiest part of their lives was when the kids were young and at home and the whole house was humming. Many people with dementia will mentally go back to the time when they were most content and happy - and sure enough I saw that was the case. Lots of the clients would talk about their babies and little kids and would be in the moment asking about Johnny's baseball game etc.

I've always remembered this and tried to savor it as my kids grow!

- Teen years when I first started driving, had a great friend group, before I made some bad choices and had to live with the consequences.
- First year after meeting DH. Young and so in love, just exhilarating.
- Age 1-1.5 with DS. Hitting our stride as new parents, traveling over the spring and summer to visit family and take vacations. He was such an easy toddler who slept well and could go anywhere. Just truly enjoyed our time as a family of three before we were surprised with DD.
- Maternity leave with DD. Snuggled up with the sweetest little love of a baby. We kept DS in preschool and I was able to take 6 months of maternity leave. Absolute heaven.

There have been terribly sad and tough times since (like now!), and I feel incredibly grateful for these happy and good memories to get me through.

The 3 years after the birth of my 2nd child were the best. She was an easy baby, after my 1st child who was much harder. Seeing them interact together warmed my heart and we got into a very good routine.

I was so happy, I thought let's have 1 more child.
I got pregnant... with twins. They are 8 years old now, and I can say the last 8 years have been the hardest, most stressful of my life (and my husband's). I love my twins, but it changed my life immensely and I wouldn't do it again.

The kids under 5 years were really hard for me. I was working a lot of so stressed with the intensity of parenting young kids. One regret I have was not having more help when they were really little so that I could enjoy more and stress less.

My happiest time has been the past couple of years. Kids are in elementary and watching them develop and spending more quality time with them has been wonderful. I’m hoping and praying their teenage years go okay and that we stay close.

I also had a wonderful childhood.

For me it was wedding through youngest child going to kindergarten. So for me that was age 24 - 36. I’m 40 not and look back longingly at those days.