It's Okay.

The last twelve months have made up the best year of my life, hands down. But it's also been a very trying year in a lot of ways. 
Having a new baby (no sleep ever), Match day (having no idea what state we'd be living in), ending one season and starting a new one (emotion emotion EMOTION), and a few things just too personal to share with the whole world wide web. 
It's been the best year ever, peppered with a lot of, "Wow, this is pretty hard" kind of things. 
Because of that-both the good and the bad-I've felt pressure to act and feel a certain way. For example, if someone asked how I was and I said exhausted, wouldn't it seem like I wasn't happy about having a new baby? Or if someone knew I was going through a rough circumstance asked how I was and I replied, great, we're going to the beach this weekend! Wouldn't it seem like I wasn't taking whatever was going on seriously? 
This is stupid, of course, because it comes from a place where we all know we don't belong: Caring entirely too much about what others think. But, stupid or not, it's something I've been learning. So I thought I'd share a few things, just in case you need to learn them, too. 

It's okay to have happy days during hard times, and it's okay to have sad days during happy times. 
It's okay to cry over how behind on your to-do list you are. It doesn't mean you aren't savoring this season of your life. 
It's okay to hate how exhausted you are. It doesn't mean you don't love your life. 
It's okay to be frustrated with your job. It doesn't mean you aren't thankful for it. 
It's okay to be overwhelmed by just how much work taking care of a baby is. It doesn't mean you don't love that baby, or that you're a bad mom.
It's okay to take a break. It doesn't mean you're a quitter. 
It's okay to go out to lunch and go shopping and just have a great freaking day. It doesn't mean you aren't taking the hard circumstances in your life seriously. 
It's okay to feel confident in your accomplishments and to celebrate the tiniest of successes. It doesn't mean you aren't still working hard. 
It's okay to ignore pressing matters for a bit and take a coffee break instead. It doesn't mean you're irresponsible. 
Maybe that seems like a bunch of jibberish to you, or maybe you need someone to tell you that they way you feel is okay. If that's the case, let me just tell you: it's okay. it's okay. it's okay. 
What are you learning is okay?