Last night as I was rocking my 4-year-old daughter before bed she told me that she loved me….

A million billion thousand thirteen nineteen twenty-one twenty-two twenty-three.

And then she said, “Mommy I love you even when I say mean words to you.”

It made me smile.

She is like most of us – when she is tired, hungry or upset she is crabby. And she tends to take it out on me.  When she is really mad she tells me she loves me zero. I always tell her that I still love her anyway, to which she replies, “I hate when you say that!”

The past two months have also been an adjustment for her. She went from being the baby who got all of the attention for 4 years to being a big sis. It is a big change for a little girl with lots of emotion and passion.

She hadn’t said any “mean words” recently, so I appreciated her comment even more.

It made me think of all the times adults say mean words and don’t apologize for it.  How often adults have bad days and take it out on the ones we love, often the little ones in our lives. And how often we never  acknowledge that it has nothing to do with them or the amount of love we have for them.

It’s a great reminder to not take it personal if your loved ones takes out their frustration, unhappiness or bad day on you. And and even more important to be aware if you are doing it and try to prevent it from happening again.

The biggest lesson of all is to always tell those close to you how much you love them. I mean who doesn’t want to hear they are loved a million billion thousand thirteen nineteen twenty-one twenty-two twenty-three!

Have a great weekend!

Love, 

Molly