I waited for his response, filled with hope that the words he directed at me would be the ones I wanted to hear.

“It’s seasonal.”

His polite tone didn’t soften the blow. Disappointment consumed me. I never imagined a Costco employee could stir up such emotion in me, but that is exactly what he did when he informed me the Salmon Poke Bowls my kids and I were addicted to as of late, weren’t in stock. Forever the optimist, I had to ask.

“Will they be back soon?”

“No telling. Things come and go here. They may be back. They may not. I recommend you keep checking back with us.”

I stood in the aisle watching him and my hopes of Poke Bowls get further away from me. Isn’t that how life goes? It brought to mind that saying about seasons and reasons, basically espousing the belief that nothing or no one is in your life forever. It is much like, “this too shall pass” and other wise words we often repeat when we are going through a tough time. They are words to bring comfort, like a cozy sweater in the first days of fall, to each season we experience throughout our lives.

The seasons may be slightly different for each of us, but we are all presented with them at some point. It’s just that some affect us more than others. There is even a condition known as Seasonal Affective Disorder. SAD: the self-defining acronym stands for a type of depression that occurs the same time every year. If you’re like most people with SAD, your symptoms start in the fall and continue into the winter months, sapping your energy and making you feel moody. The symptoms tend to go away during the sunnier days of spring and summer. It’s a matter of getting through it. Suggestions range from getting more sleep and exercise to seeing a therapist.

Our life seasons aren’t all negative, but they are all definitely finite, no matter how we choose to spin it while we are in the midst of it. One season leads to another, leaving us with only the lesson learned to drape ourselves with as we approach the next season. Just like our season in diapers eventually morphed into a time when we had to put on big girl panties, or the days of financially depending on our parents developed into our own independence, so goes every single season in our lives.

Each is necessary if not always as welcoming as the first day of summer. Like the tree that loses all its leaves in the dead of winter only to bloom once more in the spring, our transition is also necessary. Our season may seem to last longer than we would like, but it is a process of natural growth we endure in order to enter the next stage. So, next time you’re frustrated in life, remind yourself.

“It’s seasonal.”

Next time your heart is breaking, and you can’t imagine taking one more breath, breathe and remember.

“It’s seasonal.”

In that moment when you are so overwhelmed with work, your partner, your kids, yourself, say these two little words to yourself.

“It’s seasonal.”

And, when the sun is shining, and you’re surrounded by loving family and friends, or when you’re simply having a really great day. When your life is going as planned, and your cup runneth over, When your kids are thriving, you are happy and healthy, and feeling productive. Pause and bring these words to the forefront of your mind and your heart.

“It’s seasonal.”

Embrace it. Enjoy it. Soak it all in because another season is just around the bend.