Madeleine: Isn’t France the city of love?

Me: Well, Paris is. Paris is a city in France.

Madeleine: Right, Paris. Because that’s where they always meet each other and get falled in love.

Me: So, what is love anyway?

Madeleine: It’s when you really, really, really like someone or something and you want to spend a lot of time with them.

Me: Right! And there are different kinds of love, like the romantic love between Daddy and I, and the family love that we have for you and Ephraim and you have for us.

Madeleine: And for Nanny and Pa and Mimi!

Me: Yep. And there’s the love you have for your friends.

Madeleine: AND there’s a really special love you have with a special person because he loves you. And that’s Jesus. He’s special, right?

Me: Yes, he is.

Madeleine: Oh! And there’s also the love you have for animals.

I wonder how much I’ve taught my daughter about love wordlessly. Does she see love in interactions between Steven and I? Does she hear love in my voice even when I’m angry? The hard part isn’t the conversation. It’s the action.

“For one human being to love another: that is perhaps the most difficult of our tasks; the ultimate, the last test and proof, the work for which all other work is but preparation.” – Rainer Maria Rilke