Parenting as a Jack-in-the-Box milkshake

Sometimes I think that raising children is like a milkshake from Jack-in-the-Box. Let's go specifically with the Oreo milkshake. You have to suck on that straw until you almost have an aneurysm to get a small taste of that ridiculously thick milkshake. But oh how rich that one little taste is. Then after you've had 15 or 20 little tastes you're so satisfied that you can't finish the whole shake. I love those moments as a parent where you just think that there's nothing better than that little baby. Playing hide-n-seek, or watching them get the biggest kick out of the smallest things, like a Barbie Dream House commercial is good stuff. Granted, there are moments when a big piece of Oreo gets stuck in the straw and blocks the flow of joy, but those moments always pass and the reward is that much bigger when they do.