Hugs

How is it that our children know the times when we need their love the most? Last night (after another long day in a very stressful week of standardized testing in my classroom) I was putting EmmaLee to bed. We had finished our nightly routine- story, potty, tucking in and song- and I was reassuring her that it really was time to go to sleep and that she wasn't going to miss anything because Mom & Dad were going to sleep too.
She studied me silently with those big, beautiful brown eyes from her position on her pillow and then reached up and hooked her arms around my neck. Without even a word, she hugged me as tight as she could- complete with an "uhhhhUM!" to let me know that I had gotten one of her special "EmmaLee Loves". My heart melted. How can they know that things like that mean so much? This is true love- being in tune with the needs and feelings of those around us and doing what we can to make it better. There is nothing better than my family. How very, very blessed I am.