Thursday, June 30, 2011

I am grateful for love.

"Mom, I only love you this much,"  My little girl stated a couple of weeks ago while she placed her hands out in front of her and then put them close together.  Then she added, "I DON'T love you this much," and proceeded to stretch her arms wide apart.  So, basically she was saying, "I don't love you very much, only a little!" 

After conveying this depressing news she casually walked out of the room leaving me completely and utterly devastated.  So, I fell under my covers and began to weep ... and then cry ... and then uncontrollably sob.  As I lay there in such a pitiful state I began contemplating what my reaction to this news should be.  I first thought of becoming angry.  I could show her what a mother truly undeserving of a child's love really looks like.  Or maybe I should stay silent.  If she couldn't understand what I did everyday that demonstrated my love for her, then why try.  Or maybe I should lecture her.  I could give her a laundry list of all the times I had cared for her and served her.  My last option was to love her.  I could wipe away my tears of self pity and decide that her statement about her love FOR me was really a reflection of the lack of love she felt FROM me.  Whether her feelings were justified or not, that is how she felt and I had to validate it. 

And loving her is what I decided to do.  I walked into her room where she was laying in her bed and gave her a big hug and a kiss, read her some stories, and then cradled her as she fell asleep.  I would like to say that immediately she melted into my arms and everything was all better, but it wasn't.  For some reason my poor little girl was feeling distant from her mother, and it would take a fair amount of love, kindness and concern on my part to repair what had slowly developed. 

Gratefully time has passed, and I am happy to report that after weeks of careful and compassionate parenting, my little girl is once again happy to be in the company (and in the arms) of her mother, and let me tell you ... the feeling is more than mutual.


WHATEVER THE QUESTION ... THE ANSWER IS ALWAYS LOVE!!!

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