Love & Hate

For quite awhile, Taylor has had an endearing habit. Whenever he (or we) would get frustrated or angry about something he would look us right in the eye and say, "Mom (or Dad), I just love you!"

The torn look on his face as he said this was priceless. The general gist of his remark seemed to be, "I'm really irritated right now, but I like you a lot, so fine."

I always got a kick out of it.
And in a way, I thought it was a good lesson-- it's important to remember the big picture when the little things get you down.

Well, recently, Taylor discovered a new word.

I'm not sure where it came from, but as we were sitting at the dinner table trying to convince Taylor that the food on his plate was worth his attention, he put his head down and said "I hate you."
I was beside myself.
Taylor went to his room.

A short while later we had a little chat.


Me: Taylor, do you know what 'hate' means?

Taylor: What?

Me: Well... it means you don't like something or someone. When you tell Mommy "I hate you," it means "Mommy, I don't love you."

Taylor: (horrified) Oh. I'm sorry Mommy! I love you very much. You're my special girl!

Me: Oh, Taylor, you're my special boy. I love you very much, too. But we don't say "hate." Okay? It's just not a very nice word.

Taylor: Okay, Mommy. I want to be a nice boy. I just love you!


Much better.

And thankfully, that "new word" seems to have left the premises.