Magic Moments

One afternoon this past week was especially awful. Amanda and Sam both fell asleep in the car on the way home from somewhere, and this was a good thing as they both desperately needed naps. We parked in the driveway and all 3 of us napped for a good couple of hours. However, when Amanda woke up she was completely miserable - she always hates napping and figures she's been tricked if she falls asleep (unless she refuses to admit she's been sleeping at all...yes, Amanda, you've really just been "keeping the sun out of your eyes" for the last 2 hours). Cue the screaming and moaning and general misery.

So a few hours later, after putting up with this for the rest of the afternoon and evening, I had finally got both kids to bed. Awhile later I heard Amanda calling for me from her room (she rarely does this anymore...usually once she's in bed we don't hear from her until morning). I went in and all she wanted was a hug. I guess on some level she realized how awful the evening had been and wanted to make sure we were OK before we both went to sleep.

So I leaned in for a hug and she grabbed me tight around the neck and SQUEEZED and I got a little teary-eyed. My grandfather, who died 13 years ago, used to ask for a squeeze when he wanted a really big hug; I have shared this story with Amanda many times. I told her what a great squeeze that was, and she asked me if it reminded me of my grandpa. Then she pulled back and looked at me with such an open look of love on her face that I was taken aback. It's probably the same look she sees a hundred times a day - you know, when you feel so in love with your kid but can't possibly say it all the time or you'd seem like a crazy person? I said "what?" and she said "what?" and we went back and forth for a bit, then she said "I just love you so much, that's all".

Well, what more could a tired mommy ask for? I tell you, sometimes when we need it most God throws us a parenting bone and all is well again with the world.