Makes a Mama Proud

Every once in a while, my children will do something so completely unexpected, so completely genuine and utterly pure that it makes this mama stop-dead-in-her-tracks kind of proud. We had one of those very moments this afternoon.

We were in the car, and Osten was upset about something in his eye. He made such a fuss that I pulled over to take a look at his eye for myself. I couldn't find anything amiss and we were nearly home anyway, so I told him to sit tight and promised that we would put some ice on it once we got home.

As both of the kids have started to do for each other lately when one of them is distressed, Marci was very concerned about Osten's predicament. She relentlessly insisted upon his immediate need for ice and wanted to be sure that an ice pack was going to be our first order of business upon our arrival at home. Next thing I know, I see her holding out her hand with her first finger extended and repeatedly asking Osten if he wanted some ice. Since we had no ice in the car, much less any that would be within her reach, I was quite intrigued.

After pulling into the garage, Osten jumped out of the car and headed inside to find Daddy. I went around to Marci's side of the car and helped her out of her car seat. She was still talking about giving ice to Osten. I noticed that her finger was wet, and she referred to it as the ice that she had been offering to Osten.

Finally, I asked her, "Marci, how did you get 'ice' on your finger?"

"I just put my finger in my mouth, Mommy," she proudly exclaimed.

Oh, the resourcefulness and the genuine concern for her brother's wellbeing, if only for a moment! It brought a tear to my eye and gets me a little choked up as I think about it again as I type. For all of the things that I know Tom and I don't always get quite right when it comes to the awesome responsibility and privilege of being Osten and Marci's parents, it's times like these that make me realize that we must be getting a thing or two right every once in a while, too.

No matter how challenging our day, no matter how filled it was with one parenting challenge and sibling squabble after another, it's this kind of pint-sized, genuine goodness that washes away every last one of my parenting frustrations. And if only for that one short, sweet moment, all is right with the world. These kinds of moments take my breath away every time, and lucky for me, they always come when I need them most.

My cup of pride runneth over!