True Love

I realize I spend a lot of time complaining about parenting and complaining about my kids. I assume, faithful readers, that you know I love my kids and I really do love being a mom. My childhood dream always was getting married and having kids (isn't it for every little girl?) But as I grew up, and became who I am today, I realize that there is a lot of other things I want to do that is somewhat difficult to do with the little munchkins around. Now I would not trade my life for anything, but to quote one of my favorite fictional characters Glinda (the "good" witch) "Getting your dreams, as strange as it seems, is a little, well, complicated. There's a kind of a sorta cost, there's a couple of things get lost, there are bridges you crossed you didn't know you crossed until you crossed". I did sit down with a point here that is a little lost in the above rambling... but to quickly further clarify before I get on to my real blog purpose, I feel, as a mother of young children, there are just some regular day to day stresses that can make everything else in life so appealing. So when I spend my day being sassed at, complained to and given dirty looks... When I spend my day picking up messes I did not make, cooking food no one likes and buckling seat belts in the freezing cold I think what the heck am I doing here! But here is where my point comes in. These little busters come out of nowhere and do something (that might just take a split second) that makes it all worth while. Here is a list of the things that happen in my day that put me head over heals in love with my kids:
1. Unrequested hugs
2. Soft little hands
3. Mispronounced words
4. Tucking them in when they are already asleep
5. Random "I love you's"
6. Silly faces

7. Knock Knock jokes that make no sense what so ever (I can only take a few of these before I need something from 1-6 to make up for the annoyance...)
8. Total and utter innocence
9. Complete faith in me (is this a coincidence I though of this one after #8, they might be connected : )
10. Calming their fears and soothing their hurts
11. True joy
12. Spending the night and grandparents (Had to throw that one it!)
13. fuzzy p.j.'s
14. Heart to heart talks about magicians, horses, heaven, PBS and other completely random things that children take seriously (well heaven is not random, but the talks you have with a child about it are truly priceless
15. Imaginations