Even When They’re Dumb…

The birthday card I got last week from the kids reminded me why parenting is worth every second of stress, poverty, and headaches…

First of all, I received these coupons:

Right after I looked through all of them, Ronald made me laugh.  He said, “Are you going to use them, Mom?”

“You’re damned absolutely right I’m going to use them! Every single one of them!”

As if a spotless house and a day without kids isn’t good enough, I also got this note inside my card:

The handmade drawings all over the card were adorable, but it’s the message inside that really tugged at my heartstrings.

Here’s what it says:

Mom, (#1 Mom)

Thank you for supporting all of us through our hard times.  We cannot explain how much it means to us.  If you weren’t with us, guiding us to success we would be nowhere by now.  Even when we make you really mad and act really dumb and disrespectful, you stay by our sides through the good and bad times.  Happy 32^nd birthday mom!  We love you!

Love,

Gerald, Ronald, Jeremy, Emma

How freaking amazing is that?!

#1 Mom?  Wow!  As many times as I’m told that I’m the meanest mom ever, I never thought I’d be reminded that my kids actually DO like me sometimes!

Hard times?  My gut reaction when I read this was almost to laugh.  But then I remembered that we often forget that life can be stressful for our kids, too.  Sometimes they even have more going on than we do.  Don’t believe me?  Check this out.

Guiding them to success?  Yes!  Just when I thought I was a failure at parenting and that they weren’t listening to a thing I’ve taught them over the last 13 years, I finally see (even if only for one day each year) that they’re getting it!

Even when we make you really mad?  Okay, so this part did make me laugh… At least they didn’t call me out too badly and say, “When you scream at us like the house is on fire…”

And act really dumb and disrespectful?  This one made me laugh, too.  At least they realize on their own that sometimes they’re dumb – I don’t want to have to call them douchebags every time!!

Happy 32^nd birthday?  Damn.  Did they have to write the number?  That part I could have done without!

In all seriousness, though, it’s the little things like this that mean the most to us as parents and the things that we’ll remember long after we patch up that hole in the wall from the football or fix that broken window from the baseball.

I love my kids more than anything, and I hope I can make that as clear to them every day as they did to me in my birthday card.