How I know I'm doing a Good Job

There are certain days that I swear my first born child is trying to drive me crazy. 

I have to remind myself that he's a normal kid.  That they ALL

push their limits which is why we set boundaries in the first place.  

When I look at him, I still see this sweet face. 

The sweet boy who sucked his thumb and carried a blankie everywhere he went. 

His little face who always wanted to snuggle and had a smile for you. 

It's hard to believe he's so close to adulthood. that next year, 

we begin an earnest look at colleges he could possibly

 attend. It seems like yesterday, I searched for the right preschool. 

I'm not going to lie.  Parenting is hard and parenting a teenager is super hard.  There are days I truly question if I should be doing this.  What if I royally screw up and can't teach him to become an honest, God fearing man?  

But on those days that I have the loudest doubts bouncing around my head, there's a part of me that KNOWS I'm doing a good job and at the end of the day he's a good kid. 

I know this because even though he towers over me and is growing up in front of my very eyes, he will still tell me loves me before hanging up the phone.  He's not ashamed to say those 3 words when he's hanging out with friends, at football practice or needing something from school.   In fact, he says he loves us before he leaves the house or we drop him off.  

So between the door slams and eye rolls, I get a glimpse of a combination of my sweet toddler and the young man he is meant to be... and it's someone that I'm proud to know.