Keeping up with the Tanakas

I went out to lunch with a friend from the YMCA Japanese language course I used to attend. He is a single guy who has lived in Japan longer than me and he is great with the kids. Today he said to me, "whenever I see your kids, it makes me want to have children of my own." Wow. After getting past all the jokey "you can have them" replies or the deflecting "you just caught them on a good day" remarks, really, I just want to say "thank you." That is the best compliment. As someone living away from her family, it is not often that I receive feedback on my child rearing. Hearing that was a big confidence booster. Of course, he did only spend two hours with us. We will have to wait and see what my mom and aunt have to say after they stay with us for three weeks.