Underappreciated moms

During family night this week, my nearly 3-year-old daughter was going around the room and saying one thing that person did for her that was nice or that made her happy.

For her daddy, she said he took her sledding. Grandma makes cookies for her and grandpa sings her songs to put her to sleep.

And then, she got to me. For a moment, she just kind of stared at me as if she had never seen me before. Then after a long pause, she muttered, “I don’t know.”

I smiled patiently waiting for a better answer, but this is what I was screaming in my head, “Really? REALLY?! You don’t know. Oh, how about giving up my career to raise you or blowing up like a blimp during a difficult pregnancy? Or maybe you could pick all the times I make your lunch or wipe your nose or rush you to the doctor at 2 a.m.? Or perhaps you could find something in the area of childbirth — do you even know what an episiotomy is? Well, do ya?!”

Now I didn’t really expect a toddler to come up with such weighty topics, but I did expect something a little better than what she finally decided to say: “Uh. Mommy puts clothes in my drawers?”

Ahh, it’s all worth it.

I’m sure it won’t be the last time that I feel underappreciated as a mom or that my daughter unknowingly punches me in the heart. I know this because I am just barely starting to understand exactly how much my mom sacrificed for me throughout my life.

So until my daughter has that realization, I guess I’ll just be here, dutifully folding clothes and putting them in her drawers.

When have you felt underappreciated as a mom? When do children start realizing how much their moms (and dads) do for them?