It’s so cliché to be talking about love on Valentine’s Day. But here’s the deal: every morning I take the kids to school, I remind my mini-van-crew to try to be better than yesterday. This has been going on since August and just this past week Lily spoke up and asked, “what does that even mean, Mom?” Great question, girlfriend!
As I was about ready to cross that bridge of over-sharing and over-complicating my answer, I thought about a word that’s been floating a lot around our house: love.
“I want to love you better today,” I told her and the boys.
I’m learning to love myself. I’m learning to love others without wanting something in return. I’m also prompting more conversations about love around the house. Here’s how:
- “What is something you love about [sibling or parent]?” A great conversation starter at dinner.
- “I love you and I’m so glad you are here.” What I say to each of the kids individually [with a hug and a kiss] after they come back from Dad’s house.
- “I’m glad you shared that / Thank you for being honest. I love you, and I know that was hard.” This is typically when one of the kiddos owns up to something [accountability is HUGE around here! But it can be scary to fess up… child or adult!].
- “The best thing we can do is to love someone for who they are. Not who we want them to be.” Enough said. And a little too complicated for Michael… but he’s getting it… or so I think.
Have we had enough love for one post? Nah… now a few photos of the things I’m loving about my forever Valentine’s:
Life is about love. Giving and receiving it. That’s it. My wish is that you find someone to love a little extra today.
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