Success is..

finding a heart drawn at the bottom of my son's school paper with "MOM" written in it

wanting to make me my coffee "just the way I like it" before he even has breakfast

asking me if I'm okay when I hurt myself

a wet kiss on my cheek when he thinks I'm sleeping

finally being able to remove the protective wooden slats from the insides of his bedroom windows (he no longer tries to put his fists through them)

a holiday not totally destroyed by raging and screaming

missing me when he is at school

wanting to do what mom says most of the time

being able to sleep at night before three a.m.

realizing there is success in our lives

by Marta Whitney