I'm a spy

I just got done giving my daughter dinner which consisted of noodles with a mushroom sauce and sauteed tofu. She loved it! Anyway, she's now playing on the couch and I'm spying on her little imagination. She has about 5 bowls all lined up in a row and two pouring devices which she is carefully divvying up between the various sized bowls. It is so cute. It got me thinking about a lot of things though. A lot of what I do as a Mom involves the work of a spy. I go about my business as though I am not paying attention to what she's doing but really she's never out of my peripheral. Constantly I'm checking to see what her integrity looks like on this day or the next. It's sneaky but wonderful. Sometimes I'll spy on her while she's winding down for a nap or bed time: She'll be singing to herself, reading a book or two, tucking her stuffed animals into her crib by covering them with one of her MANY blankets. Then I have to quickly leave the room so as to not to disturb the imaginative process in progress. I really do have the best job in the whole world. To be the one who ultimately is shaping what her boundaries will be as she grows and matures. It's a HUGE responsibility but one that I don't take lightly. Some days I am too tired to enjoy her, but always I love being a parent. Some days I feel less than qualified, less than patient, less than adequate to be this wonderful little person's mama. But then, out of no where she'll exclaim, "uh oh" because the toilet seat is up or the door to the bathroom is open. That 's when I realize, "Crap! She's really listening!"