We’re supposed to be the ones comforting them, but sometimes, our children are the ones comforting us. If you’ve ever had a bad day at work and found your stress melting away when you got to sit down with your little one, you have something in common with Serena Williams. In a new interview with Mamamia, Williams explains that after losing to Naomi Osaka in the U.S. Open , it was her 1-year-old daughter, Olympia, who kissed her better. “I got in the car, and Olympia was in the car. It was so weird, and she started giving me kisses, she never gives me kisses. She doesn’t even know to give kisses, and she just grabbed me, and I was like this little baby is so smart. It’s just hard to be too down when you have a little one… when you have someone to take care of,” Williams told Mia Freedman for an upcoming episode of the podcast, No Filter.

“Like I have to take care of this person, and I have to do this type of stuff, it puts everything in perspective,” Williams explains. This isn’t the first time Williams has talked about how motherhood has changed her perspective. Before she had Olympia her career was first. But now that she’s a mom, Williams is trying to take care of all of Olympia’s needs, but also recognizes that she can’t ignore her own. “I’m working on it,” she told TIME . “I never understood women before, when they put themselves in second or third place. And it’s so easy to do. It’s so easy to do.”
It is easy to do. According to a recent survey by REDBOOK and HealthyWomen (a non-profit dedicated to providing women with health information), 45% of women over 30 do not make time for their own health, and a recent study revealed that when women have time off from work, we’re often spending it watching our kids or doing chores around the house. In short, we’re always making sure our children’s needs are met. We’re good at that. But sometimes, when they make sure our needs are met (like Olympia did with those kisses) they remind us of what really matters. When you’re a parent, your worth isn’t defined by how clean your laundry is, how many promotions you get at work, or (at least in William’s case) Grand Slams. Sometimes, it’s found in kisses from a toddler. Your baby loves you, mama. So you should love yourself, too.

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