When will we stop wishing our lives away?

Remember when your baby was a newborn and you were up multiple times through the night and spent your days running on empty? I'm sure I'm not the only one who would look forward to the day my baby slept through.

Then when we were potty training and teaching our toddlers how to eat and behave, we wondered if it would ever end and couldn't wait for the time our children were older and more independent.

Once my children hit 4/5, they were far from independent and as we played their games, fixed their snacks and attended to their needs, I couldn't help but feel worn out and look forward to the day my children were a little older and less demanding.

Now my kids are tweens, I feel like I'm on the cusp of a new era. It has been 13 years since I had the freedom you have pre-kids and I am counting the days until my three are old enough to be left at home for a few hours without us organising babysitters months in advance. Bring on those theatre visits and cheeky Friday night drinks/cinema trips!!!

But where does it end? I am guessing when the kids are teens, I'm going to long for the day I can have my house and WiFi back and not constantly deal with moods and hormones.

When the kids are in their 20s will I long for the days they are more settled in life?

Will I still feel like this when they're in their 30s? Does my own mam wish my life away today??

Maybe I'm overthinking now but I wonder when it will stop. When is that golden point in parenthood that you don't yearn for the next stage? Can anyone with older kids enlighten me?

I don't think we should feel guilty about wishing our lives (or those of our children) away and I think it's just human nature. We always want what we can't have. I think though, once we reach these stages, we quickly move onto looking forward to the next stage rather than celebrating a new milestone. So from now on, I'm going to make more of an effort to celebrate each life stage. Tonight I'll be raising a glass to no longer having to take my kids to the toilet every 5 minutes, to no more sleepless nights and to not having to physically go into the swimming pool with the kids when they go swimming now (this was a biggie for me).

Which stage of parenthood are you looking forward to right now?