Luke-isms and a Good job

I was completely frazzled. It was noon and my hair was a mess, I was still unshowered and in my pajamas. The only thing I had managed to attend to, so far that day, was Luke. I changed his dirty diaper and as I fastened the last velcro, Luke stated simply, “Good job, Mom.”

“What did you say?” I asked him.

He smiled. “Good job, Mommy.”

I was astonished. “Thanks, Luke.”

Suddenly, my piss poor attitude turned sunny. I had been brow beating myself all day about the things I wasn’t getting accomplished, yet with one simple complement, my two year old had turned my day around. Did he know that my self esteem was tanking at that moment, or was he just realizing that he needed to give me some positive reinforcement to ensure that I continue changing his dirty diapers? I really don’t know the answer, but it really doesn’t matter. Whatever the reason, it worked.

Since then I have gotten “Good job, Mommy’s” almost daily and the timing is always impeccable. Recent note worthy affirmations occurred after I helped him brush his teeth, sang him a song, put batteries in his train, turned on the DVD player, loaded the dishwasher, poured him a cup of juice, and drove my car. The last one was especially significant because I wasn’t even doing anything special. Just driving the car along safely. This does, however, make me question how he feels about his father’s driving skills. I bet Brantley has never gotten a “Good job” and I know why (two words: speed demon).

So, I’m obviously not perfect, but as long as my boy thinks I’m doing a good job then that is close enough to perfect for me.