Ten Things I Love About Being a Mom

Today was not my finest parenting day.  To be sure, it was no where in the threat level midnight zone, but it was one of those days where I had to apologize to my kids a couple times for raising my voice and it's bumming me out.

I even web searched "don't like being a mom"  tonight to look for some motivation for tomorrow; then I realized lot of people really don't like being a mom, and I'm not one of them.

So in honor of that being the wrong web search for me, here are ten things I love about being a mom, in no particular order.

1. I love the way my kids' feet, head, arms, fingers, sides, cheeks, etc. feel as they are pressed against me in moments of comfort and happiness.  I love the memory of baby Little Bug feeling like a loaf of warm bread when I would pick him up out of his crib and the lightweight, yet somehow solid, way Little Bro felt as he monkey clung to me as a toddler.
2. I love the sounds of my kids' laughter.  Not just because it's cute, but because seeing them so genuinely happy brings this bloom of warm, fuzzy joy in my own chest.  More than anything in the world, I love seeing my kids deliriously happy. 
3. I love the moment when they learn something new or accomplish something special.  I love the way I can't help but scream and start jumping up and down while shaking their shoulders, and I love the way they grin hugely and their eyes go wide with excitement.  We feed off each other.  It's a total, genuine high.
4. I love dance parties.  Big ones with instruments and little ones in the hallway.  And straight up, I love riding freaking carousels.
5. I love that they call out for me in the night.  Granted, during the night I never feel this way, but in the daytime hours I can think clearly and know how much it means to me that I'm the first thing that pops into their heads when they need help.
6. I love showing the world to my children and seeing it through their eyes.  I love the introspective challenge I get in realizing I have to explain, on the fly, the random details of life like military heroes, personal clothing style choices, cloud patterns, the tooth fairy, and the hygiene issues surrounding kissing dirty school buses. And that was just this week. It may sounds simple, but it's not when everything is met with "why?"
7. I love how hilarious being a mom is.  The ridiculousness of it all.  The bodily fluids I wipe with hands without batting an eye.  The serious conversations you have about hypothetical stuffed animal sword fights and their feelings and motivations.  The intense thought put into whether or not to get bug tattoos with or without butterflies included in the lot (still on the fence).  The anger I feel at the old Thomas story lines, and the begrudging respect for the new Thomas story lines.  The spur-of-the-moment superhero cap your son wants that you fashion out of an old pillow case (and it looks like something your 3 year old made himself with training scissors, but he adores it). When I really stop and break it down, half my day is spent doing something slightly bizarre or ridiculous.  And that's fun.
8. The "shake and blow." The "no big deal." The "it's okay, it happens."  The "I'm mad" instead of screaming. I love watching my kids learning to be tougher and roll with the punches.  I'm trying to raise kids who express emotions with words, and it makes me proud when they can do that.  One of my proudest moments is when my boys stop and take three deep breaths to calm themselves down.  They both do it, daily, on their own without my prompting.  My heart soars to know I gave them that critical emotional tool and to see it helping them in their lives already.
9. I love the moments when the sun is a muted yellow through our windows and we're cuddled up in a pile together watching a movie or reading a book.  I love the feeling of arms and legs and a family mass and knowing my family is a family who loves physically without reserve.  Who needs their "own" seat anyway?  I love saying "I love you" a million times a day and hearing it back every time.
10. I love the way Little Bro's tiny but impossibly strong arms lock around my neck as he pulls me in for a tight, tight hug and how his face scrunches right before he kisses me.  I love the way Little Bug gives his side hugs and bear hugs just a little longer for me, and his impromptu kisses and arm caresses.  I love the way his hand always has to be in mine.  And I love running my fingers through their hair at night and whispering to their drooping eyes "I love you, saranghae, nose kiss, bear hug" and knowing that these amazing kids are mine to love and love and love.