do you know that you are very strong?

As a parent, I fuck up a lot.  Whether it's yelling too much, forgetting to pack a snack for school or setting a bad example, I do my fair share of fucking up. This week, I even had the audacity to sing You Are My Sunshine to Amelie.  She vehemently let me know that she is NOT my sunshine!

BUT. There are times that the kids do or say things that make me feel like I'm doing something right after all.

One of our favorite books is "The Monster at the End of this Book".  It started out as a favorite book of mine.  A book that was read to me as a child and whose illustrations and hilarious story have stuck with me all these years. It gives me such great and pure joy to share this treasure with my own kids, complete with a silly Grover voice (which probably sounds nothing like Grover!).  And the kids adore it too, gracing me with huge smiles and belly laughs at every single reading.

Without fail, my kids answer a question posed on one of the pages. When I, in my best Grover voice, ask "Do you know that you are very strong?", both James and Amelie earnestly declare 'Yes, I am very strong!' It's a rhetorical question, so the first time they answered caught me by surprise. But every single time, it fills my heart with joy and pride.  I love seeing their confidence and certainty that they are strong.  And, although, it's a little thing, I think that it speaks volumes when young kids feel strong and powerful and are comfortable expressing that confidence.  And I don't think it's too much of a stretch to take a little bit of credit for that confidence. I love that we are able to share in the love of reading as a family and that the kids are able to smile and laugh along with the story and come away with a little boost of confidence.

Yes, James and Amelie, you are very strong!