My husband walked in the door after work and told me he was tired. I knew he was; he should be. He works incredibly hard for our family. But in that moment all I wanted to do was rattle off a list of all the things I’d done that day. I wanted to make sure that he knew I was tired too. I wanted him to know how much I had done and accomplished. I wanted him to acknowledge and validate my work. I am a stay-at-home, homeschooling mom to our children. That is my job right now and I do love it. I’m thankful that I’m able to stay home with them. I know many moms who would love to stay home with their children, but who aren’t able to do so. I am thankful; but it is challenging. In fact, many days I feel like I’m doing very few things right. There is no barometer for a stay-at-home mom, only thoughts in her head about how she’s doing in the child raising, teaching, and housekeeping game. My husband is a natural encourager, I know he knows what I do and and he is thankful; he tells me. But even still, these negative thoughts plague me. It’s caused me to look deeper into these thoughts and feelings and at the root is a need and a desire for validation.