Validation in Crayon

The other night I was having a Mom/hormonal pregnant moment.

In my opinion, having a moment is healthy and completely acceptable, even if you want to have multiple moments several times a day...
and you drive your poor husband crazy...
and your kids are wondering who is this woman that has replaced their mom.

Totally okay.

I had filled my head with the mental dialogue of,

What's so glamorous about the life of a Mom?
Where's my praise?
Where's my validation?

(very similar to the tantrum of a 3 yr old, but in an adult body)
I walked myself into the bedroom.

Right before I was about to throw my tired body dramatically onto the bed and have myself a good pity party (and I mean a really good one) a stack of papers littered across my night stand caught my eye.

I slowly climbed up on my bed and found myself a comfortable spot. With my back propped against the headboard, I curiously reached my fingers towards the mess of papers. I scanned through mass.

There were papers that needed to be filed.
There were papers that reminded me of bills that needed to be payed.
There were papers that needed to be thrown in the garbage.

But underneath that boring stack was a pile of messy little papers in all shapes and sizes. Some were colored brightly, while others were folded with the edges unmatched.

I cautiously slid that little messy pile out ninja style, as if playing an intense game of Jenga. I looked at the papers one by one- adoring each misspelled word and soaking in the love.

And my heart smiled.

It was scribbled I love you's at its sweetest.
It was praise in the best form.
It was validation in crayon.
But more importantly, it was what I needed.

And that Mom/hormonal pregnant moment quickly melted away into a different kind of moment. A moment where I was gently reminded of how lucky I am to have 3 little yay-hoo's in my life who also happen to be my 3 biggest fans that love me unconditionally.



And I was grateful for a moment like that.