Do Your Eyes Light Up

I watched a small snippet of Oprah today.

It was filled with highlights from previous shows.

The part that I saw was about a tough biker husband who bought his wife Oprah's 20th Anniversary DVD. She got the first DVD in and had him sit down and watch with her. She left on to go to the grocery store. And when she came back? He was sitting there watching Oprah.

He said that something that Maya Angelou stuck with him.

"Do your eyes light up when you look at your children?"

After he saw that show, he realized that he HAD to make an effort when he interacted with his children. That he could be hurting their feelings by just looking at them in a blank or irritated manner.

That got ME to thinking.

How do I look at my children? Do my face and my eyes light up?

I think it does. But not ALL the time. I know that when I pick up my daughter, I try to have a smile on my face. Hold her hand as we walk to the car. LISTEN to her as she tells me about her day. I do the same with the Bear.

I remember one time when the Princess' teacher said that she liked seeing the Princess and I together after school. How we'd hug and kiss each other. That she could tell the Princess and I enjoyed each other. The gals at the Bear's daycare know what our morning routine is like. That the Bear kisses my left cheek, my right cheek, my forehead, my chin, and then we rub noses. Then it's a big hug from me and then his sister. Then he's off. We send him off with love with our routine. It comforts us all. It sends us all off with a smile.

But I'm definitely not a saint. I get in bad moods. I think it's important for them to realize that even parents get upset. That we control our anger for the majority of things. But there are moments when we parents lose it.

But I am amazed at how many parents I see at school or at daycare that have a "whatever" expression on their face. Like they're irritated by their kids. It saddens me.

Now...do YOUR eyes light up?