Three Little Words

There are so many things going on in the average person's life that something like three little words shouldn't really mean too much.  I suppose that, in the grand scheme of things, maybe they wouldn't mean much.  But, today in this moment, they do.

Language acquisition was challenging for CJ, but not like it is for Liam.  Liam has to really WORK for it. He has to hear the same thing over and over and over before he can utter it into something remotely recognizable.  Often he'll try hard to tell me what he wants or needs or where it hurts only to finally walk away frustrated because I have no clue what he's saying and the sign he's trying to use for it isn't the right one.  Or maybe he doesn't know the sign for it at all.  I remember back in September on the day of CJ's baptism, we took the kids out to eat at a buffet restaurant and Liam was in a full-blown meltdown because he wanted something and we couldn't understand what it was.  We offered him every item in sight to no avail.  Finally, after a good fifteen minutes and with a completely frustrated and sobbing Liam, we figured out that he wanted a slushie.

It's with all that mind that three little words would seem trivial.  There are so many bigger words he could learn. He could be learning words to tell me about the seasons, about his theories on how things go or how bugs grow.  He could talk about a book he's ready or tell me all about his days in school.  So many words are out there, and yet none seem to begin to stack up to his ability to say three tiny little words.

I love you.  Liam can say I love you.  That means he must also understand I love you.  When he says it, he says it with great gusto usually followed by a hug.  They're such small words, but they carry so much meaning.  They tell me more than any novel ever could.  And hopefully, when he hears me say it to him, it carries as much weight for him as it does for me.

I love you.

I love you too, Liam.