Doesn't everyone have little cutsie tootsie rituals they share with their children? The tiniest of things that are repeated every single day, that they will likely remember forever. It is my hope that my children remember the sweet and kind words that we share, rather than the loud demands and criticism that often is spewed from my mouth before I realize it's been released.
One of our rituals is something that Jake and I have done for years and years. It's kind of silly, but it's OURS, and that makes it special to me. You'll hear the following words spoken from our mouths every single morning and every single night ... and quite often a few times in between:
Me: I love you.
Jake: I love you more!
Me: Impossible!!
Jake: Possible.
See, I told you kinda silly ... but we've just ALWAYS done that. And I hope we always will.
There is a similar routine that Molly and I share. It was created when she was very into learning how to count. She'd say, "I love you 100!" And that meant A LOT! I'd say I love her 101. She'd continue so her number was ALWAYS higher than mine, until we'd just give up laughing.
Then, yesterday ... she was home from school ill. We were snuggled up on the couch watching TV. I leaned down and kissed her forehead ...
Me: I love you Molly girl. So much.
Molly: Well ... I love you 180.
Me: I love you 181.
Molly: Then I guess you love me more than I love you.
With that she broke our gaze and focused back on Yo Gabba Gabba.
She is four people. Four years old. I understand that. But her words pinged my heart a little. We all want our kids to love us unconditionally, just as we love them. We like to hear the words that they love us more than anything else in the world. Maybe it reassures us of their love after we spend the morning screaming and yelling at them to do the right thing and to make good decisions. Or maybe it's just me who does that. Hhhmmmm. That is a possibility.
But ... that is not the case with Molly anymore. She broke the tradition. Our ritual has been damaged.
So what did I do? How did I handle the situation? With the same maturity I always use!
I turned the channel to Ellen. I'd had enough of HER shows.
Hey ... it's important that I stay consistent with my parenting tactics.
We'll call it ... tradition!
