This Is What Marriage Really Looks Like For 2 Parents Who Get No Sleep

Lauren and Eric are parents to three adorable children, and like so many mothers and fathers, they're freaking exhausted. These two are currently in their peak no-sleep years, with Nora, 5, Andi, 3, and Deacon, 6 months, but they are championing through the crying nights and grumpiness, because that's what their relationship is right now, and that's what makes it so special. Lauren, creator of the From Blacktop to Dirt Road blog, recently took to Facebook to vent about these sleepless years.

"These are the years that we don't sleep," she opened the powerful post with. "The years that we hear cries in the night and give cuddles in the darkness. The years that we don't sleep in the same bed, but brush hands in the hallway as we pass one another by. The years that are short, but that nights that are so long. The years that we change sheets in the middle of the night and sleep with buckets next to the bed."

Lauren continued to explain how she and her husband "celebrate" the time the kids spend at Grandma's house and praise each other when taking turns on late-night duty, but she's thankful she has Eric by her side. These long nights may feel miserably endless now, but they are getting through it together, like the superhero parents they are.

"The years that we feed babies and change diapers and burp babies and change more diapers and feed babies again," she wrote. "The years that we wake up weary, and maybe a little snarky, and have to say, 'I'm sorry,' as we rub our tired eyes, and choose to forgive the grumpiness once again. The years that we cling to one another in the early morning hours, looking into each others tired eyes, knowing that there is no one else either of us would want to be this exhausted with."

Sure, Lauren and Eric may remember the days of sleeping in, but what happens when they wake up from these nights of nowhere near eight hours of sleep makes it all worth it: "The years that we sit on the couch with our coffees in the morning, and stare at the beautiful little people we created playing on the floor who make us so tired and wonder how they can wake up with so much energy." (Seriously, we'll never understand how children to wake up with so much energy!)

For parents who are currently experiencing the same struggles as Lauren and Eric, know that it will pass, but until then, enjoy it and smile, because that's what parenting is all about.