Emma Power
Aug 28, 2017 · 3 min read

These are the golden days….aren’t they?

I have a poster on the wall in my house. It is golden letters against a white backdrop that reads; ‘These are the golden days’, I got it framed in one of those cool places where everyone has designer beards, funky glasses and trendy clothes. I hung it right in the middle of the house. No matter where you are sitting or what you are doing in my house, chances are you can see the poster.

I bought it because it was framed inside the shop where I found it and it looked pretty funky. I also liked the sentiment, numerous times I had been told by members of the public that this time in my life with small kids is in fact the happiest time of our lives. “Before you know it they will be gone and all you will have are the memories!” said an older lady to me the other day in the supermarket. That’s okay random stranger because I now have a poster framed in my house to remind me of that every minute of the day.

Initially I loved it, people would call and compliment the poster acknowledging how nice the frame is and how good it looked on the wall. Time moved on. When the toddler teased the five year old by wearing her favourite princess dress and a screaming match ensued, there was the poster in the background. As I wearily tried to toilet train the third child and was down on my hands and knees scrubbing more wee off the carpet, there was the poster. ‘These are the golden days.’

Every time there was an epic meltdown, followed by screams followed by either the eight, five or three year old being sent to their room, there was the poster telling me that what I was experiencing was a precious time, a golden day. Through the tantrums the tears, the manic laughter and the rage there was the poster and as time went by, the poster was becoming less lovely and more sarcastic. It was laughing at me; “hahahaha THESE ARE THE GOLDEN DAYS…REMEMBER???” At one point following a dinner party or should I say an attempt at a dinner party with lots of adults, way too many kids, absolute mayhem and far too much wine being drunk, I found my husband standing in front of the poster whispering under his breath; ‘These are the golden days, these are the golden days.” When I asked him what he was doing he said; “Maybe if I repeat it to myself it will come true.” We had to laugh. The poster was taking the complete piss out of our home life. If you don’t laugh you might cry, am I right? As we navigate our way through the stress, pain, joy and sometimes thrill of parenthood, we need a sense of humour to keep us sane. Now every night when we finally have everyone asleep, one of us always points at the poster and says; “Yep, another golden day done and dusted. I love my life!”

More sarcasm but hey I’m sure in years to come we will look back and truly believe they were in fact the golden days. And in future I must put more thought into what I will hang on the walls of my house.

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Emma Power

Written by

Cork born writer, foodie and stressed out mom of three currently living in NZ, hoping to ease the pain of parenting for others one anecdote at a time.