They Live for YOU

 

My little ones are the highlight of my life.  They are also the bane of my existence.  I can't go anywhere without them.  I need to feed and entertain them constantly.  I worry about them nonstop.  They don't like that I discipline them, heck, I don't like disciplining them.  I would much rather they just behave.  Or I wouldn't mind letting them slide often, if it didn't mean that I so would regret that later.  So being a mom is a stressful job.  And often, pretty thankless.  Or at least, it feels that way.  There isn't a paycheck or constant praise or any moving up in the corporate ladder.  Nope, it is just more sleepless nights, more lunches to pack, more meals to make, more dishes to wash, stuff like that.

However, no one gets rewarded like we do.  The cute kisses that melt our hearts.  The little smiles with the dimpled cheeks coated in peanut butter.  Getting to see all the firsts.  Being at the crossroads and hearing about their day: who sat by who, what they ate for snack, you know, the important things.  And they are telling YOU, which means YOU are important.  And that knowledge alone is the reason we get up every morning before dawn to a crying baby.

After a tiring morning, with my hair pulled back to mask the grease because yet again I haven't had a chance to bathe without risking a child revolt, I sink into the couch for just a one minute to reprieve
 my swelling feet.  I glance up to see my silent little Caleb, hard at work on another coloring masterpiece.  The first thing I notice, besides his cute little tongue sticking out, is the words on the paper, "I love you Mama," with the a's backwards of course because that makes it more adorable.  I didn't feel any of the exhaustion anymore, just the throbbing in my heart, knowing I am loved.

For all of you parents out there, what you do is worth it.  Let the little moments sink in and know that YOU are important to those little people.  Live your life and love them.