Love

I have read in many places that the best gifts we can give our children is a mother and father that love each other.

Love needs to be nurtured, fed and cared for, but somehow folks seem to forget that and I suspect that's why so many couples are off doing their own things. There are plenty of married folks that seem to show more compassion, and care for their cat or dog better than they do their spouse. Love notes need not stop after the busy-ness of life sets in. Even if one spouse never seems to think to lay a note under the pillow or on the counter, the other one can still write out the thoughts of the heart. If the heart has grown cold, then write a note that says what you wished you felt again. Sit and talk together about the time when you first fell in love, and think about all the good reasons you decided to get married. Love is like a garden, it needs to be tended and cared for, fed and watered with kindness so it can continue to grow and flourish. Put aside any resentment you might be feeling and for one day seek only the good in the other person.

Emery and I will be married 31 years next month and honestly our love feels fresh and new, yet with a comfortable feel. We still feel that silly butterflies in the stomach feeling when we see each other across a room, or when he walks in the door at night after work. We tell each other every day at least a dozen times that we love one another and never feel the need to get away from one another, we are each others best friend. We want to spend every waking minute together but never feel stifled or suffocated by the other. We walk close together still and hold hands. Steal kissed at red lights and during commercials and laugh about it. Every night we sit next to each other on the couch and share the details of the day and talk about dreams and hopes. We count our blessings together and never in all our years have we gone to bed angry at one another and at this point in our lives together, neither one of us can remember the last time we had a disagreement, its been years and years.

Love is so worth working for and parents that love each other deeply give their children something far more precious than anything money can buy.

My parents loved each other deeply, and showed us that love in such little ways. My father worked strange hours and often would need to go to bed before the children and he would kiss us children goodnight on the head and then kiss my mother, always saying, her kiss was the last one he wanted on his lips. We did not feel loved less, but loved more for knowing we had parents that loved each other so deeply. And on car rides, my father would reach over and take my mothers hand in his. It was good to see our parents holding hands, just one more sign of their love. It was a great gift they gave to us.