I like to be liked, especially by my own children. I want my kids to think I’m amazing because mostly, I am!

Yes, I sometimes let too much time pass between the boys’ haircuts and I refuse to buy Hollister clothes at retail price and no way in hell am I letting anyone have their girlfriend sleep over. Come to think of it, I don’t let my kids swear at me or slam doors or leave the house without knowing where they will be.

But I’m here every day they get home from school, usually with some fresh-baked treat for them and a cheerful, “How was your day?” I allow Axe body spray in my home and I don’t complain every time I have to wipe drops of pee off the toilet seat.

You know what else I do?

I comfort my sons’ girlfriends when the girls text me at 2 a.m demanding to know “WHY DID HE BREAK UP WITH ME?”

No baby book prepares a woman for that whole thing.

While I’m on the subject….

MANY, not all, but MANY teenage girls these days are psycho, stalker bitches who have no boundaries and no understanding of respect for themselves or others. Get this – one of my sons was dating a girl who told him that she had a terminal illness. My son was devastated. It kept him up at night with worry and despair. It got SO BAD that I decided to call this girl’s mother to see what we could do to help her afford the heart transplant. The mom was like “Huh? She’s totally healthy!”

Ouch, ouch, ouch.

I grieved with my kiddo over that one. Sometimes it just plain sucks to be a trusting, genuine, good-hearted human being.

Okay. What was my point?

I guess my point is that my kids know that I’m really, really there for them. Do they appreciate that fact? Not so much considering the faces they make when I ask them to take out the trash! Sometimes love means giving even when it’s not appreciated.  I need to accept the fact that no normal teenager thinks their mom is amazing. Nature doesn’t seem to allow it.

Except… I still have a 10-year old son who goes to great lengths to show me how much he loves me. I get love notes from Nathanael. He uses “ILOVEMOM” for his computer password. He makes a game of hugging me every hour from the time he gets home from school until he goes to bed.

Last night he was using Kait’s cell phone to send me text messages since the rest of the family was watching a movie neither of us cared to see.

“I love u”, he wrote.

I wrote back: “I love you to infinity and beyond and back, a million times.”

“I love you more than anyone else in the whole world”, he replied.

And I think he means it.

For now, at least in one of my children’s eyes, I’m pretty amazing. For now, maybe even another year or two, I have a kid who doesn’t think I’m too stupid, too strict, too old, too old-fashioned, too demanding, irritating and uncool.

By the time Nathanael realizes I am all of those things, hopefully I’ll have Grand-babies to impress with my awesomeness.

This parenting thing is not for the faint of heart.