...And Sometimes, They Are Little Angels

One of my favorite books when I was little was called Babies by Gyo Fujikawa. And in true favorite book fashion, my parents had every.last.word. memorized. Just saying the title and author is now a running joke in the family. My mom could recite it while cooking dinner, doing laundry, driving in the car, or whenever else we happened to make our demands to hear it. And after my sister was born, I had the pleasure as a young teen of memorizing it, too. It's practically a rite of passage in the family now.

At any rate, one of the lines--which we always read with great bravado and inflection--went like this:
Sometimes they are NAUGHTY. And sometimes, they are little angels.

And it ended like so:
But good or bad, all babies like to be hugged, and cuddled, and loved.

These days, as a mom, it's amazing how often those lines pop into my head.

Like when they are screaming and fighting or shaking sippy cups on each other in self-proclaimed "milk showers" (necessitating a real shower or bath) or eating dog food or any number of other fun adventures in naughtiness. In those moments I feel more like pulling my hair out or going to hide in the car with some deep breathing and classical music than hugging and cuddling and loving my littles.

But then there are the times when they melt my heart into pieces--when they give me an unexpected hug and send me "love waves," or when they do something especially endearing or silly, like sing "Police Navidad." And especially moments like today, when the frustrations of having to wake up the boys up from nap (because we have to pick Marie up from school) melt away as I behold this:

And I know that there is no gift in the world so endearing, so precious, so beautifully sweet as sitting next to my angel who assured me he wasn't tired as he slumbers with a toy motorcycle on his chest. So I savor this moment when he's not going 100 miles an hour and will let me hold him for just a moment longer than usual.

Yes, I know when I have to wake him he'll be grumpy. I know that oftentimes sometimes they are not the best listeners, they tear the house apart, get on my last nerve, and I'm tempted to label them as naughty indeed with a "Free to Good Home" sign. But they really are little angels far more often than I give them credit for. And I am so grateful for naptime and school schedules that sometimes don't line up to remind me of just that. Good or bad--or in between--all babies need [and deserve] to be hugged and cuddled and loved. Last nerve or not. Cuddling this one now may make us a little late picking up my other angel, but it's worth it--because I know that just as the tantrums won't last forever, neither will these fleeting moments with my little angels. And they are the ones I will always treasure most.