There were plenty Moments of AHA today, and the past few days, but I think the one that meant the most to me came at the very end of today. But before I can tell you that story, I have to tell you this one...
As you may recall, my sister got married at the end of June. Today was the wedding reception. The girls got to wear our bridesmaid dresses once again, and the guys wore nice, blue button-down shirts with black dress slacks and ties. I gave the toast to the bride and groom (which I wrote literally an hour beforehand), we had our buffet dinner, and went through the typical wedding reception traditions like the cutting (and smearing) of the cake, the bridal dance, the father/daughter and mother/son dances, etc.
My youngest son was assigned family "babysitters" since he was the only one in the immediate family not involved with the wedding party... and cannot be trusted to his own devices. My cousin and her husband were the main sitters, and one of my good friends helped out a lot as well. Along with my three kids, my sister's two step-sons were there, and they all had a fabulous time! Many of the adults, I think, had a great time watching the kids have a great time!
There were quite a lot of family members and friends in attendance whom I haven't seen in some time. Just about everyone I spoke to complimented me on my kids and said how impressed they are at how grown up my oldest is, how lovely my daughter is, and how big and active my youngest is. It made me proud to have so many people say so many nice things about my kids. At the end of the reception, I thanked my babysitters profusely, and they all agreed that it was very fun and entertaining to watch him.
When we got home, I tucked the kids in bed and told each of them how proud I was of them. I said I was glad they had such a good time, and it made me very happy that they were so well behaved. I told my oldest that lots of people complimented me on him, and how much they enjoyed talking with him. As I told him I could see his eyes sparkle with pride. Total AHA!
I love getting praise about my kids because it means that I'm doing something right in the crazy world of parenting. But more so, I love giving my kids well-deserved praise, because I can see it in their faces when they are proud of themselves. That, right there, is AHA that is so worth seeing!
Your kids are amazing and it is an obvious testament to the incredible job that you and Gary have done in raising them. Keep on doing just what you've been doing because it's working. <3
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