What Love Is (2016 edition)

Love is letting you want Daddy more
Soaking up your hugs and kisses when you're happy and trying not to let my heart break when you're sad and only give them to Daddy.
It's hiking holding hands or hiking with your 35 pounds on my back.
Love is making peanut butter balls and allowing you to eat cupcakes.
It's asking you about preschool, but trying not to ask you too much.
It's planning for the future and living for today.
Love is reading and helping you think of yourself as a reader.
It's bringing home a paycheck and trying to be a good role model.
It's monitoring screen time...yours and ours.
It's prioritizing Daddy.
Love is a minimalist.

Love is surrounding me when I wake up and feel your breath on the pillow next to mine or hear your sweet whisper, "I'm ready to get up, Mommy."
I feel it when we eat milk and Cheerios and when you wave to me from the window or give me a kissing hand.
It's dinner time and bath time and overtired crying time too.
It's jammies on and teeth brushing and sometimes even "turn my diffuser on and read to me" time.
It's sharing smoothies and showing new tricks like "I can hop on one foot now! Watch me!"
It's knowing you'll be able to and using words like "yet".
It's faith and hope and imagination and play.
Love is being a mom.

Love is also my partner.
My counterbalance, my soulmate.
It's financial planning and life goal setting.
It's taking turns and prioritizing.
It's a common vision and coparenting.
Love is being able to speak your mind and filtering your thoughts at the same time.
It's hugs and kisses and deathstares and *cough cough ahem*'s
It's working on me and working on you and working on us.
It's living with Gramma.
Love is work. Love is good. Love is not a wedding band (thankfully since yours broke twice now).

Love is family near and far.
Love is Gramma's sacrifice.
Life on hold for son and grandson.
It's baking and cooking and cleaning.
It's shuttling to preschool and gymnastics.
It's holding down the fort.
It's laughter and wine and hugs and a listening ear.
It's too much gratitude to fully express.

Love is facetime and visits.
It's "Are you happy's? How are you doing?"
It's weather updates and deck updates and neighbor's construction updates.
It's planning vacations and treating to real time bonding.
It's financial aid and constant confidants.
Love is laughter and smiles and tears and heart tugs.
It's aging and scary and too far away and not often enough.
It's hosting and "the more the merrier".
Love is knowing love is stronger than ever...even when podcasts enter the commute.

Love is also of the sibling variety.
It's apparently correcting your spelling and grammar.
It's Aunt and Uncle pride.
It's asking for advice and recommendations or listening to advice when it wasn't asked for.
It's celebrating holidays and being easy going.
It's celebrating holidays and caring about every detail.
Love is wanting nieces and nephews and never admitting it until now (no pressure)!

Love is friendship.
The hardest kind of love.
The always doubted, often not realized kind of love.
It's listening to complaints and trying not to give unsolicited advice.
It's knowing they can solve their own problems, but just want an ear to listen.
It's hurting when they are hurting and being ecstatic when they are ecstatic.
It's more than "how are you, what's new?"
It's not always agreeing.
It's two week road trips and not enough visits.
It's facebook and instagram and phone calls.
Love is happy hours and playdates and dinners when we're lucky.
Love is not giving up.
Love is calling back (and calling back soon).

Love is always here.
Love depends on what we prioritize.
Love is not possessions.
It's memories and experiences.
It's reading and imagining and exploring.
It's listening and believing.
It's faith and a sense of purpose.
Love is my reason for everything and I am so very grateful.