I said, "I love you..."

I think that it is very important to tell your children that you love them frequently. The problem that I have realized recently is that although I do tell my children that I love them frequently, it is usually followed by a request. Such as, "I love you too much to allow you to act this way!" "I love you and that is why I won't let you do something stupid." or "I love you, now be quiet!" I am not sure that this is the best way to express my love for my children to them, but when it is a non-stop day of noise...that is the best way to describe it...it is hard to stop and sincerely tell the noise makers how you really feel about them without trying to establish some sort of sanity first. It stems from adult interaction that this is the way I deal with my kids. Whenever someone in my family says something that they know is going to get under someone else's skin, they follow it by a somewhat sarcastic, "love you." D does it too. He teases me, then he tells me that he loves me and grins in a hope that I will not be mad at him. I usually follow it up with, "No, you don't." It is hard for me to point a finger when I do the same thing to him too.

When kids tell you they love you, it is because they do. Kids have yet to learn the manipulation the words "I love you" can hold. Recently, I had a conversation with my nephew Buddy, who is 3, and he loves me. I know he does because he told me in a way that made me know that he did. It was the day I found out that I had passed my final, Buddy called to congratulate me. Our conversation went like this:

Buddy: Dood (good) dob (job), Annie. Dood dob on you test.

Me: Thanks, Buddy! I love you!

Buddy: I love you too. I don't hate you.

That is true love!