A Love Letter to Love

I must admit to being overwhelmed by nostalgia these days. Autumn, Thanksgiving, Hart-all come together to make me wistful for the past and fiercely aware of the ephemeral nature of days, seasons, and life. I long to have all my loves here with me, all the time (in other rooms maybe, but definitely under one roof 😉).  But thinking about and pining for the people I love fills me with gratitude for those who love them too.

There is no better feeling than knowing that someone else sees and appreciates the special that I see in my children. Seeing someone look at one of my children with pure, unadulterated love makes my heart skip a beat. I am beyond grateful for those people. They are our family. They are love! It is such a gift to see others loving your children and I know other parents feel that way too-that there is no such thing as someone receiving too much love.

There are people, to whom I didn't give birth, who I love as though I did. There are friends who are family, not by blood, but by choice and I couldn't love them more. I am both awed and inspired by this love. It is true, the more love you give, the more you have to give.

My parenting goals have always been for my children to be kind, to act from love, and to love others well. My prayer is that they see those they love with Mama-like "love goggles" so they are availed of all that is special in that person and that they are seen the same way. I pray they don't miss it or settle for less. One day, (hopefully-natural order and all) they won't have their parents to look at them that way, and I would hate to think that there wasn't someone there to see and appreciate all that is special in them!

So today, I want to tell those I love, thank you for teaching me how to love, for making loving you so easy and so fulfilling. Thank you for allowing me to see what is special in you. And to all those who love us so well, thank you for that rare, amazing gift! Thank you to those who see something special in us that others may miss and thank you for allowing us not to have to settle for those who miss it!

But, sometimes, barista love is best!