September 5

My sweet muffin had a great time at grandma's house, but completely flamed out when he got home this afternoon: I'm talking more than an hour of full-on screaming. He yelled as we walked over to pick up Isaac from class, he whimpered pathetically as we waited outside the school, he whined loudly as we waited for Abby to come out an hour later. His nose was runny and he looked like he just plain didn't feel well, so I wavered between feelings of frustration and compassion. But inevitably, this is what melted me:

After racking my brain for ways to make him comfortable while we waited for Abby's class to end, I finally remembered that the stroller seat fully reclines, so I asked if he wanted to lie down. He replied with an eager yes, so I helped him into the seat, and he finally settled down. To commemorate the moment, I pulled out my phone to snap a pic to send to Adam, and much to my surprise, he tried to smile. Behind that pacifier and through more than an hour's worth of tears, he made an effort to smile for his mommy.

It's not that I want my kids to pretend to be happy if they're not; I want them to be real with us. But at the same time, I was touched that he dug deep and released a dose of his bright inner sunshine for me, despite feeling under the weather. It also reminded me once again that even when times seem black and frustrating, there are still points of light that break through the darkness.

Kids are amazing, and I think we're all blessed by their presence in our lives -- even when they're screaming.