I La Yas

I remember this day as if it were yesterday. I was at Target (I write about Target a lot?).....in the shoe department. A couple rows behind me I overheard a dad with his little girl. He was persuading her to try on a pair of church shoes. They had a dialogue going back and forth - and then it hushed.

I thought they had moved on.

As I was checking out the clearance sticker on a cute pair of flops, I heard the sweetest four words, "Daddy, I love you.". It came from nowhere - out of silence. She said it because she meant it....not because he asked her to repeat it or because someone else suggested it. In that moment, that little girl's heart filled with an emotion she recognized as LOVE....and she let it out.

I teared up and thought about the day when my own little cherub would say those words to me.

Feb. 3, 2009.

That was the day. I picked her up from school and was greeted with the same enthusiasm I have come to look forward to. Running, giggles, screaming with delight and a huge hug. But this day I got even more. She pulled away from our embrace, cupped my cheeks in her tiny hands and said, "Mamma, I La Yas." Because she felt it and because she wanted me to know.

There is no mistaking love. We all remember the first time that word is shared between you and another person. This was my day with Lily. Now, there is no doubt that we are in love!