They ARE Precious

So today there were parent/teacher conferences at my girls' school. I hate that it's only one day that we can do it but that's another story. For reasons untold, besides the fact that I am a stay-at-home mom, I had all three kids with me--9 years old, 5 years old and 2 1/2 years old. That was a challenge in itself. Anyway, I told the kids that after the conferences, I would bring them to Papa Gino's which they totally love. So we walked out of the school at ten minutes to five and it was pitch dark--I hate the time change, I hate winter. But I brought them to PG's, which Stella, who is just 2 1/2, recognized from far away, and it's not like we go there a lot. She's brilliant! ;-) Can she read?? Ha ha.
We were sitting in a booth while we waited and this father walked in with his two girls and one boy, preteens and teens, and I noticed he kept looking over at us. Stella is somewhat of a handful and quite noticeable to other people, as she has an extremely loud indoor voice and a vibrant, powerful personality, along with these facial expressions that remind me of someone who's been around for eighty years, not just two and a half years. So we labored over our breadsticks and pizza (chicken tenders for Po) and the dad who had his tweens and teens walked by with his tray of food and as he walked by our table he looked at me and he told me that my kids are precious. I smiled and thanked him. I have been having a hard time being patient with my kids and we often butt heads when it comes to our interactions, but at the same time I keep thinking, they are not going to be this little forever. I can already see it with my oldest who is QUICKLY approaching her tween years. I think I can kind of brush it off since I still have a baby of sorts, but people everywhere say that these years are the best and I keep forgetting that they really are. So I took a step back tonight when that dad, who was probably ten or fifteen years older than me, told me how wonderful they were, and I smiled at my kids and we started goofing off and the tension that I tend to hold onto when I'm with them kind of dwindled away. I need moments like that to remember how wonderful it is to have these precious little munchkins in my life, no matter how much of a hard time they might give me at times.
So, here's to you, my little ladies...