Unexpected Compliment

Sarah had an accident at school today.  Not a full blown pee in your pants accident, but one where she got to the toilet on time but couldn't pull her pants down far enough and ended up peeing on the back of her pants and underwear.  Due to some issues that we are still trying to figure out but believe are partially neurological, she doesn't always have a lot of notice that she needs to go to the bathroom.  We're working on it but as they say, accidents happen.

Luckily I help out with reading in her classroom on Tuesday mornings so I happened to be there when the accident occurred.  Apparently at the beginning of the school year I had put an extra pair of leggings and underwear in a bag and put it in her backpack, so she had extra clothes.  I'm so good I didn't even remember it was there, but she did.  So I went with her to the bathroom to help her change her clothes.

It seems like it would be easy, but because Sarah wears a knee brace and braces on each foot, changing her pants is kind of a big deal and a total pain in the butt.  She chose the larger bathroom and I helped her take everything off, put everything dry back on and told her I would take care of the wet stuff so she didn't have to worry about it. 

At one point she looked at me and smiled and said, "You're a good mom".  Nothing else, no "I love you", no big hug, just that one statement.  But that was enough.  There are many, many days when Sarah blames me for the most crazy things that I have no involvement in or control over, creating anger and guilt for things that I can't do anything about.  But that one statement told me in the end, no matter how much we disagree and go at each other and no matter how much I have "ruined her life", she knows that I'm trying.  Trying to do what's best for her, trying to help her out and make things right, and trying so hard to make the shitty things in her little six-year-old life just a little bit better.

I'll take "You're a good mom", because that's mainly what I strive for everyday and often feel that I come up short.  That may be one of the best compliments I ever get.