Her Love Language

This post does contain affiliate links.

On Tuesday, Addie grabbed a piece of computer paper and ran off with a pencil into Ian's room.

(They do most of their playing in Ian's room so Ian doesn't touch anything he shouldn't- like Barbies, favorite baby dolls, or accidentally tipping over the fish tank.)

After Addie was all done, she came over to me and handed me this piece of paper that she had folded over three times.

I opened it.

As I read it, I did not look for spelling mistakes..... she is 5 going on 6.

I did not care about the spacing between her words..... I was reading it as her mother not her teacher.

Her letter said (I corrected the spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and spacing... but I like her version better):

I love hugging Mommy. She is sweet. I love snuggling up with Mommy. She lets me help with the cooking, and Mommy plays with me. 
Love, Addie

As I read this letter, what struck me was how she was telling me something very important.

Something I needed to know.

She was telling me her love languages.

As her mom, I feed her, wash her clothes, and keep the house that she lives in clean- acts of service.

As her mom, I get her special things that I know she likes and will enjoy- gifts.

As her mom, I make sure that I tell her I love her, that I am proud of her, that she is beautiful, that she is brilliant- words of affirmation.

But what she reads as love is when I hug her, snuggle with her, let her lay on my lap when she is supposed to be in bed sleeping, and let her sit on my lap when I read to her- physical touch.

She also feels loved when I let her cook with me, when I play with her, when we have a girls day, when I read our "girl" books at nap time, and when I take just her with me on errands- quality time.

As moms, our job is not just to love our children, but to love them in the way that they feel love. 

This letter told me that I am on the right track. 

This letter is a reminder to me what matters most to Addie.

This letter is an encouragement to me to keep working at showing Addie just how much I love her.

Because as a mom, our job at showing our children that they are loved is never done.