I stayed.

The other day as I was tucking my daughter into bed for the night, I lingered a little longer than usual. She had her arms wrapped tightly around my neck and her cheek was pressed to mine. I could tell that she was reluctant to let me go. The sweet scent of mint and baby shampoo was euphoric to my mommy heart.

So I stayed.

I had a million things on my mind, a kitchen to clean, and homework questions waiting for me on the other side of the door…and, and, and…I was tired.

But despite all that I stayed.

I closed my eyes and breathed her in deeply.

She sighed.

Her little frame in my arms, I could feel her entire body relax.

Minutes went by and soon I forgot all about the dirty dishes…

Her soft whisper broke the silence in the darkness.

“You are my favorite. ”

I’ll admit- nine years into this Mommy gig- I’ve been a little slow at actually getting the heart of my job description. I spent a great deal of time in my earlier parenting days absorbing every parenting book I could get my hands on. I sopped up advice from the pedetrician, the mom next door, and the newest mommy blog.  But it’s just recently that I am actually understanding the core of what my children want.

It’s not all about the clean house. The perfectly decorated nursery. The organic produce. The trendy new toy. The private schools. The vacations to disney. The college fund.

They want me.

They just want me.