As moms, we have a lot on our plate running a household! Just look at the start of the day. You make sure the kids get up in the morning and ready for school. You ask “Are you all ready to walk out the door?” and of course they say “Yes” which really means I still have to brush my teeth, do my hair, and study for a test that I have 1st period! You are just hoping that at least they have clean underwear on before they head out the door!
Sure, you’ve got your boring, daily routine because that’s just life, but sometimes you want to bless your child with a little “surprise and delight”! You expect their reaction to be over the top and everything you dreamed it would be, but then…it’s not! Perhaps not even any acknowledgement of it! Oh yes, the many ups and downs with parenting! There’s not a more fun, yet sacrificial job as being a parent. I’ll explain
You see, kids and parents see the outcome of things differently. For example, when you have the opportunity to surprise your child, in your mind you see them running up to you with endless hugs, praises telling you you’re the best mom ever, and maybe a tear or two, right?
Recently, I had two different opportunities to “surprise and delight” two of my daughters…here’s the first one:
My 14 year old is at a boarding school (Sunshine Bible Academy) which is 2 1/2 hours away and her volleyball games are usually nowhere near Sioux Falls. Her game yesterday got moved to a town that was only 1 1/2 hours away! So, I jumped in the car and headed there to surprise her! Thinking, she won’t even be able to play volleyball because of the massive smile she’ll have on her face knowing that mom is there to cheer me on! She’ll be oozing “Gee mom, that was a lot of driving just to watch me play for 1/2 hour!” not to mention the appreciation just oozing out of her!
Um, I got a hug from her teammate!! I’ll simply cling to the smile that I did get when she first saw me and the hug that I had to ask for!
Second opportunity was with my 11 yr old daughter who asked me “Mom, can I have one of the cinnamon rolls for breakfast in the morning?” I gladly said yes and then received a text this morning sadly saying “Why did you eat both cinnamon rolls, mommy?” If that wasn’t enough throw in the 🙁 that she added at the end! Well, someone else in the house didn’t get the memo to not eat the cinnamon roll. So, what does a mom do to cheer her daughter up? That’s right, heads out and buys a warm, fresh cinnamon roll for her heartbroken daughter, runs it home, and bursts through the door ready to wipe away tears, saving the day!!!
Um, I got a “what are you doing here?” as she went back to coloring. I’ll simply cling to the love that she felt knowing her mom cares and the sugar buzz that I didn’t have to deal with!
We have these moments that we expect to be just amazing and wonderful and then we get a dose of reality! It’s important to just go with the flow, laugh in those moments knowing one day they will (Lord-willing) appreciate all we did and still do for them!
What a beautiful gift from God children are! They bring the best and the worst out in us as parents! But, we wouldn’t trade it for the world!
