I used to take it personally when my kids melted down with me

 I used to take it personally when my kids melted down with me.

When they'd hold it together all day at school or daycare and then fall apart the second they saw me.
The tears. The yelling. The emotional unloading.
And then I realized something.
I am their safe place.
And being the safe place means I get the storm.
Because they trust me enough to be real with me.
Because they know I'll still be there after the tears fall.
It's not easy.
Sometimes it feels like you get the worst version of them.
But what a gift it is to be the one they trust with the hardest parts.
They don't need you to be perfect.
They just need you to keep showing up with love, even when the storm rolls in.