Love conquers all

I believe that three of the most powerful words in the English language are “I love you.”

When I was a kid, my parents worked all sorts of odd jobs and had odd hours. I could always count on my dad leaving a note on the counter with instructions and an “I love you” written on it. My parents taught us that we should always end every conversation with those words.

Fast forward to today, and we still keep that habit. I model it for my children. I tell them and my husband that I love them at random times. And apparently they’re noticing.

Driving to dinner one night, we were at a stop light and I reached over and kissed my hubby and told him I love him. He said it back and my son asked us why we do that.

“Do what?” I asked.

“You kiss and say ‘I love you’ at random times,” he said, sounding both amused and little put off.

“Is that bad?” I asked.

“No,” said my daughter. “It’s just all the time.”

I laughed. “Do you want me to stop telling you I love you all the time?”

“No,” she said.

Eric chimed in with “Well we like to hear it too.”

The kids are starting to reach the age where they may not want to see their parents involved in any level of PDA (public displays of affection), but the reality is that they probably find comfort in a family that freely hugs each other and says “I love you.”

I like them knowing that even though we may sometimes disagree, we love each other. Even if things aren’t going well, we love each other. When things are great, we love each other. Love is what gets our family through good and bad times.

I tell the kiddos how glad I am that “I love you” was the last thing I said to my brother. It was the last thing he said to me before he died a few days later from an aneurysm. It was a small comfort in the midst of great grief.

Love eventually does conquer all.  

Reace Alvarenga-Smith is a Mom of two in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.