Honesty Is the Best Policy

Mondays are long days this fall semester. Today the boys woke up at 7:00am, left for school at 8:00, Alex picked them up at 1:00 and brought them home to play, Braydon finished working at 5:30 and relieved Alex, and I got home from work at 6:00 to find K & O & Braydon sitting at the table starting to eat supper. They boys were in bed at 7:15, and sleeping by 7:20. To go from 8am-6pm without seeing Mama (and only spending an hour together in the am, and another hour together in the pm) is a long day for K & O. Luckily we only have these sorts of long days 2-3 days per week this semester. I really feel for women who work in jobs with less flexibility (i.e., corporate jobs, jobs that require extensive travel, etc.). At least 2-3 days per week I can get home early to spend significant amounts of time with the boys (2 days I pick them up from school at 1:00 and am with them for the rest of the day, and I try to get home before 5:00 on one other day). Granted, most days I work after K & O go to bed (often working 'till midnight), but I feel very fortunate to have a career in which I can make these sorts of choices for myself relatively guilt-free. I do miss my boys when I'm at work, though. Especially on these long days like today. And everyday I tell them about how much I missed them while I was working. Tonight, after supper I was cuddling with Kyle at the table. I was holding him and we were snuggling tight, Kyle was just gazing into my eyes, and the conversation below happened. Recently there have been several occasions where this exact conversation has transpired between Kyle and me and/or Owen and me:

Heather: Ky Ky, I missed you today when I was working.
Kyle: You did?
H: Yes, I did. I was thinking about you when I was at my office.
K: You were thinking about me when you were at your meetings?
H: Yes, I was thinking about you when I was at all my meetings.
K: Oh.
H: And I was thinking about you when I was working at my computer too.
K: Oh.
H: Ky Ky, did you miss me today when you were at school?
K: No.
H: Did you miss me today when you were with Alex?
K: No.
H: O.k., baby! I love you!
K: I love you too Mommy!
~~~

Honest to God, there can't be anything that makes this working Mama happier than that. Pure three-year-old honesty is the best. And nothing --absolutely nothing-- is better than knowing that your kids are happy and content during their days without you. Nothing. I'm sure K & O think about Braydon and I, and I'm sure that at some level they miss us. But I'm so very, very happy that they don't miss us longingly or feel pain about us being at work. They are happy. Very happy. I am so grateful to finally have a childcare situation that is so good for our family right now. And I am soooo grateful to have such confident independent secure boys for sons! We're in a really good place right now. It is a good phase. And we can really appreciate it since we haven't always been here.