I returned home the other day, after nearly a week away, to this:

It was a ‘Welcome Home’ party, organized by Emilia, the place of honor dedicated to me and adorned with messages of love, ‘because we missed you, Mommy.’

Which: OOF. My heart, my heart. Do I deserve this? I don’t deserve this. I’m an absentee mother; I am undeserving. I am unworthy of such devotion, I am…

Oh.

I am FOURTH PLACE in Emilia’s rankings of Best Mom Ever.

Which, if I’m being honest, is probably better than I might have expected.