What You Do for Your Kids Matters: The Power of Homemade Muffins

Yesterday, I received a text from a high school friend of my oldest son, who is now in his 30s and living on his own.

“Hey, Mrs. G – super random text here, but I wanted to tell you that Lizzie and I made some chocolate chip banana muffins this weekend that reminded me of yours. They were always one of my favorites, and I would eat so many of them at your house and it brought back so many memories.”

This friend is now 31 years old and married to his wife, Lizzie. We live almost 8 hours away, so our paths rarely cross. I was completely surprised and a bit nervous, to be honest, when I first saw his name attached to a text. When it comes to our kids, moms never stop worrying! But what a wonderful message it turned out to be, and it brought back so many memories of when those boys were younger and in their teens. After all these years, I couldn’t believe he remembered my chocolate chip banana muffins. I wondered what other memories he has from those earlier years of growing up with my son. I’d love to know so much more about what details of those days he remembers, but he didn’t say anything else.

Getting his text immediately took me down memory lane of parenting during those teenage years, with the boys sitting at my kitchen table scarfing down those muffins as I dished them right out of the oven. It seems a bit blurry to me after all this time, which makes his text even more special to me. Who knew my son’s friend would still be thinking about them? You just never know what our kids and their friends will remember and what important parts of their history they will continue to hold onto.

His text made me realize that we may never know the impact we have on people, especially our vulnerable teenagers. Yes, I knew he liked my muffins, but really, what food do teenage boys not like? Since he didn’t share what specific memories those muffins brought back for him, I hope they were happy memories of being in our home, hanging out in our kitchen, eating warm muffins while talking, sharing, and laughing together. Sometimes, it really is the little things that matter so much. And this text from my son’s friend validated that truth.

So, Mom, if you ever question whether or not all the things you do for and with your teenagers and their friends really have an impact on them, this is one amazing example that proves it sure does. What you do for your kids matters more than you know. You may never get the validation I received, but I believe that everything you are doing and how you care for your kids and their friends right now in the thick of it all will surely linger on into their adult years.

You may not feel like what you do means much to your kids, and I’m sure you are exhausted from doing everything to try and be a good parent. I remember those years well with my teen sons. But please know that every little thing you do and all the effort and energy you put into raising your kids means more than you’ll ever truly understand. This is the most important work you’ll ever do, and raising teens? Well, that’s the pinnacle of it all, as you slowly and sometimes painfully build the runway for them to take off and fly on their own. And my gosh, it takes a lot of hard work.

So, moms, keep doing all you can for your kids. Keep feeding them all those endless snacks and meals, driving them all over town, showing up for their sports events or choir concerts, and all the other countless things you do to help raise them into independent, well-loved adults. Even just being there to say hello and ask how they are when they come through your door shows you care, and it makes a big difference in their lives. You may not feel like what you are doing is enough. You might feel like you’re failing, especially when you and your teen go through hard times. But I promise, you’re the perfect parent for your kids.

Just keep showing up for your kids in the best ways you can. Keep loving them right where they are because although they may not say how much it means to them now, they will be grateful for all you did for them someday.

And if you want to feed your kids some of my delicious chocolate chip banana muffins, here’s the recipe for you!