Sometimes as a parent, I feel like all I do is remind, reinforce, and occasionally nag. 

Pick this up.  Don’t forget this.  Put your glass in the sink.  Is that where your shoes go?  Did you forget to hang up your towel again? 

Sometimes I wonder if it ever sticks. 

And then a day like today happens.

I woke up with a massive tension headache. Instead of enjoying the day with friends, I spent most of the day snuggling with Cade on the couch. Thankfully I was able to sleep for a good part of the day and get in lots of Cade-snuggles!!

Kory was quite disappointed that our day’s plans changed.  He was mad. He pouted. He actually changed into his blue shirt – the matching shirt color of choice for our activity – and a pair of shorts. He marched himself down to the living room and sat down. He even made sure I noticed that his shoes were on since he was ready to go.  I told him it was okay to be mad but that we also rescheduled our plans for later in the week.

Shortly after that, he said, “so can I get changed back into my pajamas?”

And that’s when I saw the glimpse that it sticks.  All the hard work of reminding.  All the times I feel like I am repeating and nagging.

After he changed into his pjs, he brought down his overflowing basket of dirty clothes and put them in the laundry area.

He walked over to me with a bucket – “just in case you get sick, mommy.”

He brought me a Sprite – even though it was a half-empty bottle that he had been drinking from over the past few days.

He asked, “Is there anything else you need?”

I made sure to tell him thank you after I told him I was fine.

And then he played quietly – or as quietly as Kory can play with his superhero sound effects. 🙂

At one point, I woke up from a little nap, and I heard him in the kitchen.  I looked at the clock, and it was 11:30.  Never once did he ask me for lunch.  Never once did I hear him complain about being hungry.  Instead, he had pulled up a chair to the cabinet to get out the peanut butter and nutella.  And he made his own lunch – I think he claimed he had three pieces of bread with peanut butter and nutella.  Don’t worry I ended up making Cade and myself something simple.

My headache ended up breaking in the afternoon, and that wonderful headache fog was gone around dinnertime.  Kory ended up playing with a friend for most of the evening.  While we were going through his bedtime routine tonight, I, again, thanked him for his help today. 

“I just tried to take care of you like you take care of me when I am sick.”

It does stick. All the reminding. All the repeating.  All the times I feel like I am nagging. And all the times I don’t say anything but just take care of him.  The little glimpses make it worth it all!

and someday his future wife can tell me thank you!  🙂