I Love You More

Our children give us more than they will ever know. The scope of their hopes and dreams leave us humbled and awed. Every antic, every question, every conversation carries the power to make us recognize what is truly important in this life. Too often, we miss these moments of truth and beauty. We fail to recognize them for what they really are: glimpses of heaven before our time ~

It all began as we were standing in front of the bathroom mirror, me fixing Jen's fine, blonde hair. I was putting in the final elastic of a spunky pair of pony tails and finished with, "I love you, Jen."

"And I love you," she replied.

"Oh, yeah," I taunted, "well, I love you more."

Her eyes lit up as she recognized the cue for the start of another "I love you more" match. "Nuh-uh," she laughed, "I love you the most."

"I love you more than a volcano!" I countered--a favorite family phrase in these battles of love.

"But, Mom, I love you from here to China."

We volleyed back and forth a few favorite lines. "I love you more than peanut butter"...Well, I love you more than television"..."I even love you more than bubble gum."

It was my turn again, and I made the move that usually brings victory. "Too bad, chickadee. I love you more than the universe!"

On this day, however, Jen was not going to give up. I could see she was thinking.

"Mom," she said in a quiet voice, "I love you more than myself."

I stopped. Dumbfounded ~ Overwhelmed by her sincerity. Here I thought that I knew more than she did. I thought I knew at least everything that she knew. What a wonderful expression of love ~ she loved me more than herself.

Jen is now 24 years old and we still have these “I love you more” matches. I still maintan ~

“Jen, I love you more ~ More than forever and a day.”

I await her response. :)))