It is often difficult to remember in the middle of hectic days, interrupted nights and inevitable parent child tensions that little ones really adore their parents.

This story is about one of my sons when he was 4.

One morning I was finishing a grocery run in my neighborhood when I spotted a group of school children happily walking a few blocks away. I wasn’t sure it was my son’s class until I spotted one child with a huge grin on his face, his body practically jumping out of his skin with excitement. I realized it was my son; he had spotted me on the street. Every cell in his body seemed wrapped in complete joy and pride even though I had just seen him less than an hour earlier. I was completely startled by the expression on his face.

That moment is hard for me to remember but when I can it makes all of the difficult moments of parenting somehow easier.