I've thought about this a lot and decided that we all love but we love differently in many ways. I believe we learn this from those people that we are exposed to as children. Not just our parents, but friends and relatives that we observe and interact with...or not. Some people give us lots of love, sometimes in small ways that we learn to appreciate. I know some of the people that taught me this.
My godmother and her husband showed me love by taking me out to dinner on my birthday and letting me order anything I wanted. A small thing but, coming from as large a family as mine, it was extraordinary to me. I was the oldest of seven children and was given a lot of responsibility growing up. Some I embraced, others just made me feel abused and used. I won't go into that but it was more than I should have been given.
My mother was married early (she was only 16) and she had me before her 17th birthday. The others came just about every two years except for the last two, who were just a year apart. She stopped at 7 by qualifying to have her tubes tied. At this stage of my life, no, I take that back. I figured out by the time I had my four kids that she really did try to do a good job with the knowledge she had but we don't come with instructions.
What I learned from her was that you need to love your kids with all their flaws and strengths. You need to protect them as much as you can from people who mean to do them ill or abuse them. I made my own mistakes but they can't say I didn't love them. I did with all my heart and I still do. That includes the Princess.
My life was not easy and it wasn't privileged. We were fortunate to have a hard-working father who did his best to keep us fed, clothed and have a roof over our heads. I have to admit that I didn't think for years that he loved us until I came to the realization that he loved us in his own way. He was the product of a different home than ours was and he reacted in the only way he knew how. Our mother didn't allow us to have any prejudices about people, either ethnic or religious. We learned to love different cultures foods and their differences. I remember being shocked to find out that our father wasn't like that. He was very prejudiced against certain people just because they were a different color or ethnic background.
I loved to give my kids gifts at Christmas. Many a time I didn't receive a single one in return but that never bothered me. The more I could see them love the gifts they got (except for the required underwear for my boys...LOL), the happier I was. One gift I got from the Beast (who was browbeat into buying it for me by my oldest daughter) was a blue topaz ring. It was always special to me. I ended up giving it to Sheepie after her break-up with Teach a while back. I don't know if she values it as much as I did but I gave it to her as an *I love you dearly* gift. She was so heartbroken at the time. She and Teach are now back together and I think they have ironed out their problems. At least , I hope so.
I love how the Princess is with her children. She is especially good with her son who is adorable. He loves his mommy but he is a daddy's boy, too. I love how Johnnycakes is with him. They all love in a way that is different but it is still love. It's amazing how you can see all the different ways that love manifests itself.
The love between my siblings and I is different, too. We can argue and disagree on different things but we will not let anyone hurt them. We circle the wagons and become unified. It's something that mystifies the Beast because he didn't have that with his siblings. He came from a different home with very little love shown. It's really sad in many ways. He was always amazed at how we could be really pissed at one another and then, when the fight/argument was over, it was like it never happened. His family could carry a grudge for years and never speak to one another again.
I just think this is all amazing and recognizing the differences is, too. We all do the best we can. Live and learn. But love with all your heart. The rewards are wonderful even if they aren't totally what you would like to receive in return. We only get one life. Live it fully and enjoy it. I love you all dearly. ***Hugs***
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