I Love You More

Love is a curious thing…sometimes a mystery. It exists as both a noun and a verb. It can exist as a thing we feel, or a thing that we do. It can be multi-faceted and can be exhibited in different ways to different people in our lives. Although there are many definitions of love, the one that resonates with me the most is the simple 3-word definition provided by Merriam-Webster – “to hold dear.” And to me that definition encompasses so much and captures the complexity of the word love in so few words. While the love for a parent, spouse, partner, child, or friend can exist in different spaces of our heart, the essence of it is that we hold that person dear to us. That element makes me think about my son. I was once told that there is no love like the love a parent has for their child. Until I had my own child, I never understood how true that was. There is indeed no love like what I feel for my Kaden. Every day he tells me and his mom “I love you” – yes, every day. And we always reply to him with “I love you more.” Then it turns into an “I love you more” battle as he tries to one-up us on who loves who the most. It is truly a special moment. Truth is, I think we love him more because as a child he can’t fully comprehend the sacrifices that both of his parents make for him every day. Yes, raising children is indeed a labor of love. But who loves who more right now really doesn’t matter to me. Kaden knows that his mom and I hold him near and dear to our hearts. And when he tells us that he loves us more, I know that he holds us dear in his little heart too.