I saw this on Pinterest a few days ago and later on Facebook. There hasn’t been a day that has gone by that I haven’t thought about this. I’m a busy mom of three and countless times I find myself saying, “Not now!” “I don’t have time!”, etc. I don’t mean to put them off — I swear I don’t. Its just that getting in the shower, so that you can have a good night’s sleep…so that you can be alert in class….so that you will have a better chance at doing well in school….so that you can get in the best schools…to have a successful career…and then later be able to live the American Dream seemed so much more important at the time than listening to you talk about someone laughing so hard that milk came out of there nose in the cafeteria!!

I remember, when I was a little girl, being “put off”. Wasn’t good. Wasn’t good at all.  And the fact that I remember it says that I was hurt. And…maybe the fact that I am mentioning it now, means that maybe…just maybe I still am. Some people might say, “Hey, that’s life!” Yeah, but life as a child is short and rough. Its my job to make it easier. That they feel secure and protected.  So, here’s the deal. I will make this promise to my little people: I promise to listen to you talk about things such as, Amelia using potty words like butt and stupid. I will not roll my eyes behind your back as you talk about your video games. I will even stop what I’m doing most times and give you eye contact. That IS what I ask of you, isn’t it?

I hope, now that I have read this, that I can be a little more attentive until it becomes a habit. Lord knows,  I don’t want the pain of hearing, “But you never listened to me”. That would hurt and I don’t think they don’t make Band-aids that big.