"you're a good mom..."

I turned and looked at him, stunned by what I just heard.  Surely he wasn't talking to me...but then again I was the only mom in the car & he wasn't on his cell phone....

"What?"

He repeated, "you're a good mom.  I love how you are with Lucy & how you interact with her."

"thanks," I replied...still pretty shocked.  How I interact with her?  Does he recognize that Lucy is the one I'm often correcting while on the phone with him?  Lucy, get out of the trash...Lucy, we don't play with pads & pantiliners.....Lucy, you've already ate three yogurts today....Lucy, I'm sorry I broke your heart....but it's not okay to eat dryer lint...

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The day after this short conversation with my husband on the way home from church just happened to be Valentine's Day.  Lucy had taken a GREAT nap (2 hours!) & was in a GREAT mood.  I decided we'd make sugar cookies and decorate them for Daddy. 

Problem.

I don't know how to make sugar cookies...or frosting....  I did manage to track down a recipe for frosting quickly & I just used a pre-packaged mix for the cookies.  Second problem: I only had a star shaped cookie cutter.... 3rd problem: I was missing my egg beaters & measuring spoons....

The cookies burned (I assumed they likely would), the frosting was lumpy & I guessed while measuring ingredients.  I had flour from one end of my kitchen to the other---and I was covered as well.  (note: it is not attractive to cover your clothes in flour when you're trying to look cute for your husband on Valentine's Day).

I positioned Lucy in her high chair and tried my best to get her to actually decorate cookies...but she was far more interested in eating sprinkles, frosting & even the cookies.  She wrapped her lips around the sprinkles and treated herself & figured out if she shook them hard enough, they'd spray up in the air and fall down.  Sprinkles soon covered her tray, fingers & my kitchen floor.  The photos captured the moment perfectly.

And then....my husband walked in the door.  He kissed me (as always), told me Happy Valentine's Day & said...

"see, you're a good mom..."

And you know what?  I believed him.  I've lost my patience a lot lately and not been as gentle with my daughter as I need to be.  I've felt frustration over her temper tantrums, teething & never-ending colds.  I've placed my needs above hers....and I've wished away some days.

But, that day....that day I WAS a good mom.  I didn't have an agenda, I didn't let my expectations get the best of me, I didn't let the mess bother me & I didn't care about the finished product.

I focused on the journey to getting to the finished....albeit, messy, product.

And it was a very fun journey....