R-E-S-P-svee-T. find out what it means to me. ...

I have a new found respect for working mothers...and fathers.

Last night I babysat one of the most darling 1 going on 2-year-olds on the planet. He's a happy baby, chunky, and just so sweet. There is nothing better than him snuggling up on your shoulder when he is getting sleepy. I had offered to watch him long ago but the opportunity never worked itself out until just recently. We set up the appointment last week. A 2.5 hour gig immediately after work. No problem...or so I thought.

Now nothing terribly difficult or trying happened. Nothing even close to that. Again, he was a pleasant baby. We played, we laughed, we had a good time. We read books, played in his cardboard house, played with the locks on the door, and ate Goldfish (He ate Goldfish. I can't stand the things.) But by the time my 2.5 hours were up, I was exhausted. Granted, I hadn't been sleeping well for the past few weeks, I had just completed a full day's work, and I hadn't eaten for several hours, but still! I was so tired when I got home! Mothers (and fathers) around the world do this very thing day in and day out. They don't do this once a week or once a month. This is their life. This is their work, the most important work that they could ever do.

I left wondering and hoping that should the day come for me to be a mother, I would have the energy to keep up with a child. That I would have the patience and know-how to teach meaningful life lessons. I came away appreciating what my parents sacrificed for me and my brother and sister. I came away appreciating that my dad would constantly be looking for ways to better provide for the family and to still make time to teach us of his heritage, to develop talents, and to give us opportunities to do fun things. I came away appreciating my mother and her tireless efforts to help us excel in school, to counsel with us when we were faced with difficulties, to keep us fed, in clean clothing, in an organized home. Parents are simply amazing.

Now I don't know what the future holds, but I do know this. Watching parents through adult eyes is a completely different experience from when you are young. I'm grateful for that but wish I would have had a better understanding while growing up. I also realize now that being single, in no way, prepares you for the type of exhaustion, love, and sacrifice that inevitably comes from parenthood. And yet I still look forward to the day for that to happen...all the while hoping to discover the secret formula to unlocking unlimited energy (not in a powder or liquid form).