You Can Never Tell Them Enough

I LOVE YOU

I'm learning to love Valentine's Day more as each year passes.  I've never really disliked it, but it wasn't among my top 3 favorite holidays either.  But as my children continue to grow despite my pleas for them to stop, Valentine's Day is turning into a fun holiday for me to express, in a fun, sweet tasting way, my love for them.  

Last year I blogged about Valentine's Day being a bitter/sweet holiday for me, because it was at this time in which my first baby girl passed away.  But as the years have rolled on, I've gained a better appreciation for this be"love"d occasion.  I happened upon a fun way to show my children my love for them this coming Valentine's Day, and I CANNOT wait to do it.  I'm feeling so giddy about it as I type. Maybe I'll end up being the one who's more excited about it than they. But you know what? That's okay!!  Maybe that's the whole purpose.  The more we, as parents are excited to show our love to our children, the more they realize how very much we do love them.

One of my very favorite messages (video) , is by President Thomas S. Monson, titled, What Matters Most.  (I hope you'll take a minute and watch this short clip... it just pulls at your heartstrings).  I love how he says, "Often we assume that they must know we love them, but we should never assume, we should let them know."  How true that is, and not just on Valentine's Day, but each and every day.

I've made it a habit since my first was born, to sing to my children each and every night.  I never leave the room though, until I've told my children I love them. My girls will always respond with an "I love you too!"  But my boys, they are so funny. Maybe they're slightly embarrassed to tell me back, they never do, but I know without a doubt their love for me.  Often, after I have said my "I love you's" they will sleepily reply, "Okay".  I just always grin when I hear it.  But not too long ago, one of them must have been really sleepy and perhaps not thinking straight, because I got an "I love you" back.  Boy did it make my heart swell.

Said William Shakespeare, as quoted in the video posted above... "They do not love that do not show their love."  How are we showing our love to those that matter most in our lives?  Sure, we love them by providing their basic needs; a home, food, clothing, opportunity for education, etc. etc.  But it's more than the basics. It's the little things that count.  A note of encouragement in their lunch box, taking her to the store with me just because she wants to be with mommy, making breakfast for dinner because that's their favorite time to eat it, (and dad hates breakfast for dinner, so we try to do it when we know he won't be here for it), letting them play outside in the mud, snow, rain because they think that's the best and only way to have fun at that particular moment, playing Minnie Mouse and Dora with her because she insists is more fun to play with mom than by herself.  What it comes down to, more often than not, is time.  Time with them is just as important as the words of love we express to them.

I don't ever want there to be any doubt that my children's mother loved them.   Could I do better? Sure.  I think we all fit in that category. I remember hearing the story of Jacyee Duggard, the little girl kidnapped at age 11, and miraculously found 18 years later.  Her mother, no doubt, loved her, but regretted that she did not take the time to tell Jaycee those 3 simple words, the last morning she saw her; a regret she lived with all those years.  A lesson Jaycee and her mother plead to us, is to take the time, no matter the inconvenience it may seem to us, but to always tell our children we love them.

Let the words "I love you" be the last words they hear when they drift to sleep, and let it be the first thing they witness when they begin a new day.