Have you ever wondered what your kids think you do all day? It seems like an innocent question, after all, you feel frazzled and maybe at moments under appreciated by your family especially the small people in your life. It seems like a logical and easy question to ask, doesn't it? Be careful however, you may be surprised by the answer. Case and point, a few weeks ago, I was out taking care of things, when a call comes from the school nurse, my daughter is not at all feeling well, and does not look well, she is very pale, and so I stop what I am doing and head her way, I text my husband asking him to make arrangements for a different day to help his dad. I pick my daughter, and head home, get her inside, make a bed on the couch and hand her the remote, to watch TV, while I bring stuff in from the car and keep an eye on the hound dog, who wants to go for her morning yard inspection. As I bring stuff in and out and get the dog inside the house, my daughter is sitting there hugging buddies, trying to figure out what she thinks she can eat, so she can have medicine. After, unpacking and putting things away checking in with my husband and making her lunch, I sit down to do some reading for my research project for my current class. Once she is done, I get her medicine and get her situated to nap, I start folding towels and taking care of them. After a few hours she wakes up and I am working on my lap top, to which I hear, mommy what are you playing? I said what, she said what you are playing, I said I am not playing sweetheart, I am working on a paper that is due this week. To which she responds oh, but you were reading earlier, and I said yes I was, for my final research project. As I am saying this it dawns on me that my child may not have any idea what I do when she is gone. So I say honey what do you think mommy does all day, to which I get well, you help me get ready for school, and get me on the bus. You get me off the bus, or pick me up from after school activities or take me to them. I say yes, but what do I do when your not with me, she said well, you help Grammy, Auntie, and Grandpa, and do stuff for Daddy, and the dog, and run errands for the family, and when you get a chance you do school work. Plus help with field trips, and scouting and other school activities. I was amazed that she picked up on all of it, I will admit that I wasn't expecting her to have an idea of all the stuff I do. She said but mom, you make all that look easy, I don't know how to respond to that, so I smile and start to tear up, I said I am able to do all of that because daddy works very hard, so mommy can have the flexibility to help everyone, and take care off my girl when she isn't feeling well. I know she says, and you always make daddy and I feel like we are the most important people in the world, to which I cry, yep I broke down at that point, because it is my goal every day to make them feel that way. I smiled at her and said than I am successful every day if you and daddy know that.
So the moral of this story is simple even when you feel your most frazzled remember that, you may feel like no one appreciates you, remember they have an idea of what you do, although they not get all of it, much like my child, they get a lot of it, and it doesn't go unnoticed, somehow that, at least for me is enough.
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