Sure, being a single parent is hard work. I don’t think anyone would argue with that.

I cook all the dinners, while checking all the homework, cleaning all the rooms, driving to and from two different schools and a plethora of activities…

This list could fill the whole page, but that’s not my point. I get all the moments too – the special times. Those little things that make life so completely wonderful.

Every morning, on the way to those two schools, I get to watch the sun rise with my kids (yes, we are early birds). The cries of “oh it’s red over there!” and “look, purple!” never get old, and make me slow down and appreciate that time during those early mornings when we are incredibly rushed and nothing seems to go right.

Even before that, over the breakfast we threw together, together (because everyone has a job in a single parent house – even the little guy), I get to hear about each child’s dreams from the night before. At this age, it’s very likely they are both making up the wild stories they claim to dream about, but it’s still fun to hear what their minds come up with.

By the time you read this, I will have just celebrated a birthday. My daughter swears this will be my best birthday ever. She’s got some surprises up her sleeve. But I already know I’m raising two of the most thoughtful kids to ever exist.

So far, I’ve detached almost all of the rings in a construction paper chain my daughter made to count down the last 30 days until the big day. But the real kicker isn’t the countdown – it’s that, inside each ring, she printed something nice about me. So every day for the last month I’ve started the day with a smile from my oldest. I’ve glued all the slips of paper to a poster board so I can save them.

And yesterday, I picked up my son from daycare to cries of “Miss Joy has something for me!” We stopped to see Miss Joy on the way out, and she had, hidden away for safekeeping, a very special rock (the polished glass kind) that he found on the playground and wanted to save for a birthday present. “Because it’s beautiful like you, mommy," he said.

I’ve got a lot to celebrate – for my birthday and every day. I try to keep that in mind, especially on those impossibly frustrating days that I know all parents have.

Here’s to another year of wonderful Mom-moments!

Stacy Lamb of Apex is the divorced mom of two. She also is organizer for Single Parents of the Triangle. Find her here monthly on Wednesday.