There is a practice we have in our family that started out unintentionally but is pretty routine now. It starts out by someone in a sing-song voice yelling, “Who loves [name of a person in our family]?!” Then, everyone will yell back, “I DO!!!” and raise their hands high. Then, another caller will ask the same “Who loves” question with a different person’s name, and we will all yell back with gusto, “I DO!!!” And so on.

Occasionally, someone will be distracted and not know that the impromptu ritual is occurring so another sibling will “catch” that person, scoffing in shock, “Ohhhhh! So-and-so doesn’t love so-and-so?” Then, the caught person, who is sometimes myself, will quickly raise their hand as if a fire was just lit under them and yell, “I DO!!!”

All members of the family aged three and under always raise their hand for their own name. It’s just the way it is.

Many families do not share our little game, but they do have their own version of another game, “When Daddy Comes Home.” Just yesterday, I sent my son to get something out of the van, and he returned with the item using the keys in the front door. Baby Energizer, now fourteen-months-old, is at the adorable age where she is learning words and toddling around. Upon hearing the familiar jingle of keys and the sound of the front door opening, she dropped her baby doll (or rather, threw down her baby) and went running toward the door as fast as her chunky legs could carry her while shouting, “DaDa! DaDa!” Imagine her surprise when she saw her seven-year-old brother standing there! We all had a good laugh.

Mothers have the incredible privilege of setting the tone for the home and creating an atmosphere wherein babies, preschoolers, preteens, and young adults know that they are safe and loved. When my children grow their wings and leave the nest, it will be the small, daily things that they will remember and carry on with their own families. And when my grandchildren come to visit, I’ll know just what to do when they ask, “Who loves meeeeeee?!”