When children surprise you

I have two young boys who never cease to amaze me every day with the things they do. They've always been very mischievous, and since they're close in age, they team up to drive me a little crazy. As my mother says, I shouldn't complain, since I was apparently even worse than them.

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Lately, they've surprised me because they're becoming more responsible. It's not that they listen to me more; we shouldn't fool each other before; that doesn't happen. They have their own ideas. But they do respect me more and do less crazy things, to put it mildly. I no longer feel compelled to chase them around; my knees appreciate it. And they also help me more when I need it without me having to ask.
The not-so-good part is that they spend more time with their father. Not that that's a bad thing, but I long for them to always be at Mom's heels.
The moral is that they're growing into two little men who I hope will make me proud.