just what i needed

for the past week...month, really...things around here have been stressful.  i'm talking stressful, as in i'm ready to go to work and forget this stay at home mom mess.  yeah, it's been bad.  the kids bicker all day, the fuss and argue with me, my blood boil at all the anger that's in our house which makes everything worse.  plus, we've had household items go bad.  apparently a previous homeowner upgraded lots of items in the 80s and apparently 30 years was the lifetime of everything....garage door opener, stove, heat pump, dishwasher, you get the idea.

so i've had the stress of the home, the stress of the bickering, the stress of children being sick, the stress of me apparently tearing a muscle in my hip causing to limp and wince in pain and make me feel about 90 years old.  to top it all off my face was breaking out like a teenager.  so i looked like i was 13 and felt like i was 90, not cool.

a couple of months ago i had secretly written a note to my little girl in a random notebook in her room.  i wrote down how much i loved her and listed all sorts of qualities that i admire about her.  i figured one day she'll open up that notebook and read how much her mama loves her.  i  had hoped it would happen on a day she really needed to hear it, you know?  i never heard if she had found it.  i had forgotten about it.

then a few days ago, after another difficult day, i went to bed one night and found something.  now normally my kids like to leave plastic snakes for me to find.  but that night, i found this

it says," i love you!  i have the best mom in the world!  she is kind, smart, helpful and pretty & brave.  i love my mom"

of course, i cried.

 once i read the note, i remembered the note i had written her.  she read her note and wrote me one back.   i had hoped she would find the note when she needed it most.  i had know i idea she would find the note when i needed it most.  i thank god for my children.  i thank god that i got the encouragement i needed to hear that night.