Sana's First I Love You

Daddy has been away for three weeks now. Sana is missing him every day. On the first few nights, Sana would turn around to face me in bed and utter a sad word, "daddy". I asked her if she was missing daddy and she answered yes. "Are you missing daddy so much that you cannot sleep right now?" This question returned a nod.

So I try my best to cheer her up. I keep a busy schedule with her. She goes to our babysitter for the day while I work. When I finish working, our program starts. Sometimes I take her to see bunnies, sometimes on the swing at the playground, sometimes we go for a ride.

Last night, I told her that we would go run a few errands and then we would go for ice cream. She was so looking forward to it, the ice cream part. We went to the mall after the housing office, the bank, and the library. I got her an ice cream and then borrowed the car from the mall. Sana was in heaven, riding in the car with an ice cream cone in hand.

When I was scrutinizing in the store, Sana was enjoying her ice cream and the ride. We both won, I told myself. Right that moment, Sana said, " I love you, mommy."

Well, in the end I think I won. She only responded " I love you (too/three)" if we initiated it before.