Little rewards

Riley locked herself in the bathroom today.  I figured she was working on some elaborate hairdo or makeup look, so I didn't worry about the time she was in there or the bangs and bumps I kept hearing from behind the closed door.  When she was done,  she grabbed me by the hand and ushered me in, singing that she had a "big surprise" for me.

She had cleaned the bathroom. For me.  All by herself.  Because, in her words, she wanted to "show me that she loved me by doing something nice." 

Of course, it wasn't perfect.  I could see that she had used the decorative hand towels to mop the floor and it appeared she wiped the mirror and countertops down using her detangling spray.  But things were picked up and put in the right spot, and overall, she had done a pretty decent job.

She declared it "sparkling clean" with a huge, proud smile on her face.  I declared it "absolutely perfect" because, well...I think it is.

It seems like, as a mother, we have those days when it feels like we give and do and work and help, with little reward or recognition (at least, I have those kind of days.)  But little moments like these remind me that I have a little girl who, somewhere along the way,  learned that it's important to show others that we love them through our actions.   And her actions today spoke volumes to me.

A clean bathroom is nice, but above it all is this truth:  I love this little girl.  She loves me back.  That's all the reward I need.