Good Night John Boy!

 

Every night after bedtime routines are completed, after Thom has snuggled down with Lotta to read and I have snuggled down with Zibbi to read, Thom and I head downstairs.  As we start walking, Lotta yells, "I LOVE YOU!" and I yell back "I LOVE YOU!"  Then Zibbi yells, "I LOVE YOU MOM!"  And I holler back, "I LOVE YOU!" Then Lotta yells "I LOVE YOU MORE!"  To which I now know is a trick because if I respond, "I LOVE YOU MORE", then there will be complaints of favoratism, "Wait, you love HER MORE??"  And then I yell to Benja, "I LOVE YOU!" to which he responds, "GREAT!"  And Lotta and Zibbi yell to Benja, "Love you Benja! To which he responds, "I love you too!" (Because he is not a monster and wouldn't NOT respond in kind to his younger sisters proclaiming their love.)   And then Zibbi and Lotta each yell to remind me to tell Thom that they love him, just in case he has forgotten in the few minutes since he arrived downstairs.  

Our evening love fest emerged because we are not spending that much time separated, so good-byes are rare these days.  (Although, when Lotta or Zibbi go for their weekly Agogo visits, there is a great deal of missing the other person.)  During non-Covid times, when I drop Lotta off anywhere, we have a special hug/kiss both cheeks that we created a few years ago.  Now, we only "get" to do our special good-bye hug at bedtime.  When we DO spend time apart, like for sleeping, the good bye must be momentous.  

Then, this morning, I was talking to my dad, because it is "Phone Father Friday" (yet another benefit of Covid-19's Safer At Home, scheduling phone time with my dad).  In the midst of our conversation, Zibbi  burst into the bedroom, where I had been stealthily holding the conversation, because she needed a second helping of Fruitful Oh's(!).  Before ending the call, I told my dad, "I love you" and hung up.  She was confused, saying, "I didn't know you could be 50 and STILL

love your dad."  And I said, "Of COURSE, you love your mom and dad your entire life!"  To which she reponded, "Yeah, but Benja doesn't love you anymore."  I explained that we demonstrate our love in different ways at different ages.  So at 15, showing love to your parents might be asking one of them to go for a walk or taking out the trash without being asked or engaging in a conversation.  Whereas when you are 7, showing your love may be making a sign or giving a hug.  She was extremely surprised by this revelation and immediately went to confirm the theory's accuracy with Benja.  I guess it's good that she's checking sources, even at 7?