Are You There?

You think that staying at home with the kids is enough for them. Not really. Being in the same house is not close enough. My kids have to be either in the same room or on the same floor. When my kids see my going down the stairs, they will pick up their toys with superhuman speed, declaring with urgency "Mommy is going down, mommy is going down." I am counted as evil if I do not wait for them.
Several times a day you will hear the the cry of anxiety "Mommy, where are you?" If I do not answer, they embark on a "search and rescue" mission and will not stop until I am found. Even my unannounced trips to the bathroom can be a cause of concern for them. When they do find me, you can see their joy and relief. Then they just go back to what they were doing before.

Usually, they seek me out not because they have something to ask me or need my assistance, they just want to know that I am close by. Although annoying at times, I have to remind myself to be grateful that I have children who think I am soooo important, that my mere presence brings such assurance to these little ones. Isn't it a wonder, that such a passive thing as "just being there" can outweigh all the monetary and materialistic things we can provide for our kids? Let's take the sun as an example, it's just there in the sky. But look how it makes things grow. So, never underestimate the goodness you do by just-being-at-home.