by Melissa A.F.

Created on: April 26, 2009

If you truly mean the words, you can never say "I love you" to the people you care about too much.

I grew up in a small tight knit family that experienced a tragedy when I was only five years into my life. My father passed away by taking his own life, and while this great loss was a life defining moment for me, I learned lessons from his death that I carry with me and remember daily. One of these things is that life is precious and you can leave this earth just as suddenly as you enter it.

My remaining family is the most wonderful and loving support system I could ever ask for. Growing up and still in the present time, we say I love you to one another everyday, usually multiple times a day. There is rarely a phone conversation that goes by that does not end with an "I love you".

This open nature towards embracing each other and expressing our love for one another is a huge part of who I am and extends beyond my family ties. I often let my friends know I love them and as a kindergarten teacher this year I truly saw how openly showing love can affect a classroom. My classroom seems to have blossomed this year into children who are not afraid to hug and say "I love you" to their teacher. I love that and I know it is because of the open affection I show to them each and everyday. I do this not only because it is who I am by nature, but because I am fully aware that not everyone's family is as affectionate and open about showing love as I am. Because of this I think it is even more important to extend my lessons beyond the normal educational boundaries. I also want to show my students that it is healthy and important to be able to show the people we care about how we feel. I have been praised by the organization I work for as well as the parents of the students in my class for the approach I take with the kids.

I truly believe the only time saying "I love you" can be a problem is if there is no truth behind it or if the actions do not match the sentiment of the spoken words. People need to be loved and if more of us are open to showing love we are doing ourselves good as well as those we cherish. If there is one lesson that stands out from the abundance of knowledge I have taken from my father's death it is to make sure those you care about know you love them. Tell them today because tomorrow may be too late. I realize this may be harder for other people who are not used to showing emotion as I do but the rewards of speaking your emotions far outweighs the difficulty in getting the emotion out. Be truthful, be kind, and show love.

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