And in the end, that's what counts.

Most days in our home there are fights over toys, meltdowns over homework, cries of "She's being mean!" or "Finn just hit me with Mr. Potato Head!" There is a 6-year-old who thinks she knows everything and hates to be wrong, a 4-year-old that seems incapable of controlling her volume and explosions of energy, and a 2-year-old that believes he's the king and screams at (or smacks) his subjects when they step out of line. I've been under the weather lately, so all this seems amplified, drowning out all the good...and there IS a lot of good, too. My patience is thin and I feel bad when I can't muster the energy for Cassidy when she begs me to "Carry me like you do Finn!" or Lily when she pleads, "Mommy, will you come out and play kickball with us? Please, Please, PLEASE!!!"

And then yesterday morning I dropped Lily off at preschool. I needed to pay her tuition in the office and pick up a beautiful canopy doll bed from her teacher's car (What an awesome Christmas surprise that will be!) so I sent Lily into the classroom and hurried off down the hall. I was halfway to the office when I heard my friend Caroline call, "Tracey, Lily needs you!" As I turned and started back toward the door Mrs. Colborn, her teacher, emerged from the room holding a red-faced, sobbing Lily. Mrs. Colborn put her down and she ran down the hall into my outstretched arms. As we stood there clutching each other, Lily's wet face buried in my shoulder, I realized that her great day at preschool couldn't begin without a hug and kiss from Mommy. In my haste that morning I had forgotten to say goodbye...to send her off to school with love. And she needed that...she needed me. I fought off my own tears, kissed her, and sent her back to class with a smile on her face. That's all she needed. Just me. And my love. All the other stuff - the arguments, the defiance, the meltdowns - are just a part of life, of growing up. But we love each other...and in the end, that's what really counts.