A is almost three. Three years old and I can’t help but wonder, how often in that short space of time have I said, “It’ll be easier when…” As working parents, we go from house to car to work to car to house. Never ending regular routines and schedules that can’t be diverged from for fear of being late or losing control of the weekday madness and falling into a never ending trap of rushing, panicking and losing precious time. It’ll be easier when A can walk, when she can talk, when she can put her own coat on. It’ll always be easier when independence grows I thought. But it’s never truly easy and the endless rushing from day to day is simply hard. As a working parent, that hot cup of tea, those adult conversations and the quiet as I commute to the office is not a prize for working. It’s a reminder that I made it out the door with or without stress. But surely someday “It’ll be easier when…”