Over the past week or so, Caia has made it abundantly clear that I'm her go-to person right now. This is especially true if she is tired or teething. She pushes other people away and wails until I pick her up. And I'm not going to pretend, even for one second, that I'm not absolutely delighted. Sure, it has its moments of being very inconvenient like when I'm trying to make dinner and she is lying on the floor sobbing. Or when I'm trying to make a phone call and she is, again, lying on the floor sobbing. But it has been such a long time since one of my children showed a preference for me that I'm willing to look past the inconvenience.
I know my kids love me but I also know that I'm not the most exciting person to them. If I ask the boys if they want me to sit down and watch shows with them, they say, "No thank you." Then later that same day, they beg Sam to sit down and watch with them. And I get it. I do. Daddy is the one who disappears for ten hours a day and then comes home to wrestle and play. Mommy is the one who makes the peanut butter and jelly and prevents them from doing all of the fun things they have planned like wrestling on the stairs or hitting each other with sticks. So yes, when my baby girl cries and reaches for me, when she pushes other people away, it is like a balm to my weary heart. And I know it won't last so I'm planning on enjoying it while I can. It is nice to feel wanted.