As moms, we go about most of our daily business without a ton of fanfare. Most days I get by without accolades and "attaboys," but once in a while, it would probably feel nice to have someone tell you, "That brussel sprout you forced me to mush in my mouth and swallow against my very last will was AWESOME! Mom, YOU RAWK. I wanna be just like you when I grow up and force MY kids to eat brussel sprouts JUST LIKE YOU!"
Career Day. I see it now. The Stay-At-Home-Mom shares her tricks of peppering that spaghetti sauce with extra fragments of carrots and peas with energetic, wide-eyed youth - the moms of tomorrow!
And the reality is, it just ain't so. But most days, I'm OK with that. I have been called and fully blessed to diaper duty, vomit duty, dog diarrhea duty, and laundry and dusting and taxiing duty. (Among the other duties...). I am meditating this week on the Bible verse from Proverbs 14:1 which states that a wise woman builds up her house.
Last night it hit me. She doesn't just build the HOUSE, but she builds up the people in the house. Some days I'm very good at that task. Other days I spend more time mending the mistakes I've made. But last night, I decided to build these little people up for a job well done. I took out a purple marker and scrap paper and wrote them a note:
This morning Meiners told me he had something to show me. He pulled me past his door where he had cemented my lovenote with 8 miles of black electrical tape I must have left out. He led me to my bedroom door. There, he had posted this:
Translation: Oh Mommy. Love your room Mommy. Matt.
I nearly cried. It meant everything to me. That a little 5 year-old would tell me my room looks pretty. That my note meant enough to him that he felt compelled to write one of his own.
The experts tell us to consider their hugs to be our salary. Their smiles and requests to read books and play games and snuggle as our bonuses. Their full tummies and sleepy eyes as our pats on the back for a job well done. Sometimes, sometimes I just see those things as the physical filling up of my personal space (hello - spit up on my clothes AGAIN?!). And sometimes. The right times. The blessed times. I see them for exactly what they are.
I am paid in full.
