Thanks, mom

In honor of Mother's Day coming up,  I'd like to send out thanks to all of us for those things we REALLY do.  (In no particular order... and from the perspective of my kids.)

- Hey, mom.  Thanks for making me that sandwich with the mustard perfectly spread... or drawn like a butterfly. Or a bear. Or a smiley face. And for making sure the cheese isn't torn and the bologna doesn't hang unevenly out of the bread.

- Thanks for folding my socks so I can unfold and mismatch them. Or put them on my hands like gloves. Or wear them out in the yard right after it rains without shoes.

- Thanks for washing my favorite shirt four times because I left it under my bed with a chocolate stain for a month. You're awesome with that stain remover and diligence.

- Thanks, mom, for hearing me roll over and give the slightest whimper in the night.  Double thanks for attending to my needs before I wake everyone else in the house.

- Thanks for sitting outside with us while we blow bubbles. Even though all we are really doing is splashing soap into each others' eyes and dumping out the bowl while licking the bubble wand, we are having fun and your patience is greatly appreciated.

- Thanks for being the referee for our sibling spats.  You're teaching us that by being nasty to one another, we might get smacked upside the head, and we will all get in trouble.  Life lessons, right there.

- Thanks for teaching us to say please and thank you.  People think its adorable in babies so, hey, we are twice as cute... and they expect it from bigger folk so we're on par to be respectful adults.

- Thanks for all the hugs and kisses.  I know you love me and I'm much happier with you because you make me feel so secure.  That's why I always want to hang on your leg and lay across your head.  You're just so awesome that I can't help but want to snuggle at all costs.

- Thanks for teaching me how to poke fun at myself.  I'm a pretty cool kid and people know I'm down to earth and love myself.  Thanks for showing me that it's okay to be weird as long as you own it.

- Thank you for flushing the toilet.  Ya know, eventually I'm sure I'll do it myself, but knowing that I can leave my poop right there and it'll be gone when I come back is kinda  a cool phenomenon.

- Thanks for holding me down for shots, medicine, diaper changes, doctor visits, and for my general safety.  Kicking and screaming doesn't mean I don't love you, I'm just trying to give you a great upper body workout.  You're welcome.

- Thank you for playing the same movies over and over and over.... and over... I know you probably dream in My Little Pony and Frozen, but you know how much I love them and I really love that you sacrifice actual adult stimuli to flood your brain with songs about cutie marks and whatever snow does in summer.

- Thank you for doing whatever needs to be done to make sure I complete that project I JUST told you about.  I know you had to go to 3 different stores and pull ideas from Google and just make it work, but somehow you always come through.  Man.  I thought for sure that with 2 hours will bedtime and it due tomorrow it was a long shot, but you always come through.

- Thank you for losing your cool.  It reminds me that maybe I need to step back and re-evaluate my approach but the best thing it does is show me that you're a person with feelings, too.  Sometimes I need that reminder.  And thank you for showing me that it's okay to apologize when you yell at me.  It reminds me that when I'm having a bad day and I take it out on people, I can always feel comfortable telling them I'm sorry and strengthening that relationship.

- Thanks for being the amazing cleaner of all things bodily fluid.  Snot, pee, blood, vomit, poop, pus...  you name it...  we throw it at you, on you, near you, let you step in it and act like we don't know where it came from...  but you always handle it like a champ.  Keep up the good work.

- Thanks for buying me more shampoo, even when you said you wouldn't buy any more after I used it all as bubble bath.  That huge mountain of bubbles was pretty neat, huh? Totally worth having to clean up the floor.

- Thanks for those magic kisses.  No matter what hurts me, words, a fall, sickness, loss...  mom, you make me feel better.  I know you want to take away all the pain and keep me happy and smiling always, but even when something happens, you hug me, kiss me, tell me you love me and that as long as we have each other, things will always work out just fine.

Moms, you are amazing.  I know that we don't always get acknowledged for the little, every day, seemingly worthless things we pour our energy into, but every last interaction we have with our children is a building block toward the person they will become.  Every little thing we do reinforces the person we are, too.  So thank you, moms, for all the things you do right, all the things you do wrong, all the patience you use and even all the times you snap.  Thank you for answering God's call to raise your kids the best way you know how.  Thank you for taking them from the womb and growing them into productive members of society.

Sometimes we all need a reminder that we are awesome.  This is yours.