And The Oscar Goes To.....

I really do hate awards shows.  I don't have the patience for them.  But all this talk about the Oscars got me thinking about the small moments in our lives as parents.  There are a thousand times a day when I tell Izzy "No"or "Wait a minute", or "Not now".  Inevitably, that results in an out-poked lip, tears, whining, and unpleasantness.  And although I see that face frequently, that is not the face I see in my mind's eye when I think of my daughter.  


The face I see is the "My Mom/Dad is the Greatest Person In The World" face.  The first time I saw the look, my neighbor and I were taking our kids for a walk in the wagon.  We were both signing "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes" as we pulled them down the street.  While my neighbor and I looked like total idiots to other passing by in their cars, both our kids had this glow in their eyes.  They were totally focused on us and our silliness.  They thought we were the coolest people in the world! 


Now that I know the look, I see it more often.  Sometimes it is when I stop in the middle of folding a load of laundry to read the book Izzy carried across the room.  Today, I saw it when I plopped down on the floor and played peek-a-boo in the middle of Izzy's room.  I see it every time I sing "You Are My Sunshine".  It doesn't take much to get the look.  Some days, Shawn gets it just by walking in the door at the end of the day.  It is always on her face when Daddy puts her on his shoulders.  All kids have the look.  I saw it on Izzy's friend today as his parents saddled him up for his first ride on his daddy's bike.  Another friend's daughter had it as her daddy back-packed her to the park yesterday.  At a birthday party last weekend I saw it as we sang Happy Birthday.  That birthday girl knew her parents were the coolest!  


I know that as Izzy gets older, I will see that look more and more.  I think it is such a gift that for a little while, we get to be their super heros.  In their eyes, no one could be faster, smarter, funnier, or better.  I know that at a certain point she will start to realize that mommy doesn't have the prettiest voice, that comic books are dorky,  and that her friend's parents are way cooler than Shawn and I could ever dream of being.  I just hope that by that time, we have done our job as parents well enough that despite her discovery of these realities, every once in a while we get a glimpse of the "The My Mom/Dad is the Greatest Person in The World" every once in a while.