The Silent Thank-You's

Alli is now old enough to say thank you. She knows what it means, she realizes when she's supposed to say it, and (for the most part) she says it right on cue. We have to remind her a lot, but when she says it unprompted, it truly warms my heart, even for the smallest things. I hand her her shoes to put on before heading out the door, and she says thank you! When I give her her favorite stuffed animal and lay her down for nap or bedtime, she says thank you! I help her down from the toilet, she says, thank you! Oh, and you can bet that giving her a Popsicle will almost always get an unprompted THANK YOU!! 

But what about the times where you really wish you could hear a thank you, and it never comes? I'm talking about the baby years, the time Aiden is currently going through and the not too distant time Alli just went through. The hours and hours you spent walking around the nursery to help get them to sleep. No thank you there. The many times you change the stinkiest, messiest diapers in the world, all so they will have a clean butt and feel so much better. You better believe when they are this little, there is no true "thank you" muttered for that. What about the time you put eye drops in two unbelievably strong eyes while holding flailing arms and kicking body, all to help with goopy eyes and prevent infection? He seems like he thinks I'm the worst person in the world for doing that, but someday, I'd like to think he would thank me if he could. 

Someday, I hope that Alli and Aiden realize all that Eric and I went through to ensure their health and happiness. I'm not expecting them to worship the ground we walk on, I know from my own experience that I hated my mom long before she became my best friend. But I would like to know that they appreciated us and all we tried to do for them. All those little things. Many of them are expected as parents, but many of them, I can honestly tell you that Dad-E and I did out of our strong love for them. Dad-E is the most patient, kind-hearted man I know... and trust me when I say there are things he has done for the A Team that most parents would never waste their time doing. But he always wants the best for them. I hope that someday they appreciate us as much as we now realize and appreciate all our parents/families have done for us. 

So, if nothing else, thank your mom or dad today! Thank them for changing your diapers or feeding you or walking you around the room at all hours of the night. It's likely that most parents have gone through the same things we as new generation parents are going through, but it's so nice to hear a "thank you" every once in awhile, even if what you are doing is just one of those expected things that come with parenthood.