The good part

Everyone knows that it is an amazing feeling to rock a newborn to sleep and that nothing smells better than a baby fresh out of a bath. It goes without saying that as a parent, every age has nuances that you will miss someday. It goes without saying, but I said it anyway because I don't want you to think I'm a bad mom when I say that I am totally getting to the good part.

You know, the part where you can really start to enjoy the fruits of your labor (pun absolutely intended). Like how you spent hours talking to a baby who just looked at you with a blank face, or that smile that even you knew was patronizing and you imagined your baby thinking "oh that's so sweet, she's talking to me. I'll just smile to make her feel better because she really is spending a lot of time, and she might as well be speaking German." You kept reading 'Goodnight Moon' to a three month old even though you felt a little silly, because you just knew that someday he would be stalling at bedtime saying "Moon book again mommy?" Well that day has come, and I am in parenting heaven.

I imagine that it has a little something to do with having been raised by a teacher and lover of the communication arts, but I can not get enough of this kid's vocabulary. I love that he can tell me what he wants (it really saves me a lot of time in wrong guesses). I love that he asks me questions, and tells me about the things he finds exciting (usually bugs and puddles, but I'll take it), and I especially love hearing "good morning!" when I get him out of bed.

Stay at home parenting is a job without performance reviews (well unless you count your significant other waking you up to say he has no clean socks and adds oh-so-cutely "you're fired") and I am a person that thrives on seeing my hard work come to fruition. So yes, I know that it is about the journey, but once in awhile it's nice to hear "Thank you mommy." Sometimes it's just what I needed to hear.