Do I Love You the Best? Favoritism Parenting

Do I love you the best? Of course I do. YOU are my very favorite. Some parents have it "easy" because they have one of each....Therefore, they can say, "You are my favorite little girl," and "You are my favorite little boy." I never had that "luxury." So I told both girls they were my favorite.

Truer words were never spoken. And most parents would understand.

Both girls, born from the same parents, nurtured in the same womb, victims of the same net income and parental humor, consumers of the same diet, attending the same church and schools-----they turned out as different as night is to day and both quite lovely and unique and funny.

So, yeh....I love you the best. I've never met two people whom I would love to count as my dearest friends more than you. I admire you, marvel at you, and get hysterically tickled at you more than anyone else on this planet (well, maybe your Dad ranks a little bit higher, but, then, he's got a few legs up---so to speak---on you).

After my Mom died, I realized that my brother and sister both thought that they were her favorite. Not so! I was! Certainly she loved ME, the baby chile, most like her, the most. We were intimate. We knew each others thoughts and we enjoyed the same activities and believed almost the same beliefs, religiously. She marveled at all that I did and everything I accomplished. No WAY she loved Sherry or Nic more! But they believed the very same thing as I did.

This "realization" made me think that Mom had a very special "gift" of convincing each of us that we were most important in her life......Now I know that it was not a gift at all. It was just her way of delighting in us----in each of us. It was how she lived out her mothering.

So, yeh....Don't be thinking I am an exceptional woman because I can convey to each of you your importance to me...

Nope. It's just how I enjoy you! I love your creativity--you make bows, fashion jewelry, dig ponds, sew baby clothes, design homes, heal wounds, find new ways to teach your children. I love your spirituality, your heart for mission, and your desire to serve. I love your humor and your patience and your positive approach to Life. AND, you are doing all this on a Limited Budget and with literally no help from anyone else. It all belongs to you and the Creator who probably had a blast making you!