“No one else will ever know the strength of my love for you. After all, you’re the only one who knows the sound of my heart from the inside.”

-Kristen Proby

I have seen this quote so many times and it reminds me of those memes that show expectation vs. reality.

Not to diminish the sweetness of the phrase. I love it. I have lived the reality of it. I love my children with a fierce, overwhelming love over which I have zero control.  I am amazed at it sometimes. The largeness of it, the protective nature that takes over without my control.

There is another phenomenon of parenting that also never ceases to amaze me, almost as much as the depth of my love for my children.

The sheer audacity these people have whenever I close the restroom door. Apparently the privilege of hearing my heartbeat from the inside entitles these people to demand entrance into that specific room  whenever I enter it for whatever reason. At that moment it is imperative that they know if I believe Pluto should still be a planet, where have all the grapes gone, do I know of any friends that live around us, or if I think we could go get new shoes immediately after my shower.

Thankfully after the age of two they do not just bust in, but that has been replaced with knocking on the door and a full conversation through the door. My favorite is when they are talking to me over the shower noise and I have to turn off the the shower to hear the burning questions.

“Why don’t you just ignore them??,” you may ask.

Because. The one time I do not answer someone will be bloodied and broken, the house will be on fire or we will be under a mandatory evacuation that actually does require my assistance.

Not to minimize the importance of Pluto’s status in the universe, but I feel like my opinion on that matter may be able to wait until I have dried my hair.