What To Do When Your Kids Don't Appreciate You

What do you do when your kids start taking you for granted?  The laundry is always done, the house is (mostly) clean, they have playdates at our house because it is everyone's favorite, they make it to all their practices and manage to stay on top of their school work too all because they are great, not because your a great Mom.  Rubbish.

After accepting the placement of the littles I was feeling a bit overwhelmed (we had just DOUBLED the size of our family which was NOT the plan) and called a foster and adoption ministry friend to ask how she did it all.  She allowed me to vent for a bit and while she waited out came, "all I can do is keep them fed, keep them from hurting one another and then I fall into bed at the end of the night".  She laughed and replied, "Fed and safe is enough some days.  It will get easier and then there will be hard days again".  I'm sure she doesn't even remember the conversation, but it made a difference to me.

It is important for the kids to respect me and to appreciate what I do for them, but it is also important that I make it all look easy.  It means that I was called to do just this - to be their Mom.

We have been a bit short on appreciation around our house lately and my darling husband has been on the road a lot in the last 4 weeks, so he hasn't been around to remind them.  It started to get to me today, so I baked them cookies.  Why bake cookies when they already take so many things for granted?  I baked them for me.  One day they will be out in the world and remember a batch of cookies and that is the day they will call and say thanks.  I like to think I am building up a treasure box full of "thank you"s from my adult children.  It is yet another lesson in patience that I am learning.