This Valentine’s Day I’m challenging us to play the “I love you because…” game with someone we care about. Here’s what happened when 7-year old son Olliver and I played the other day:

“Mama, I love you because…I love you!”

“Olliver, I love you because…you’re amazing!”

“Mama, I love you because…you’re cute!”

“Olliver, I love you because…you’re fun!”

“Mama, I love you because…you basically get me what I want!”

“Olliver, I love you because…you care about others!”

“Mama, I love you because…you let me do some fun things. P.S. Hanging out with you!”

“Olliver, I love you because…you have such great things to say!”

“Mama, I love you because…you’ve been the best mom that I ever wanted!”

Playing our game reminded me how important it is to let our loved ones know how much we care about them. There’s something about our shared humanity that unfolds through the simple utterance of telling someone how we feel about them.

Despite this shared generosity, the day-to-day reality for many of us is that it can be difficult to make time for connection. We have good intentions and even a plan, but life interferes with following through. Again!

It’s easy to get into our routines and manage our schedules in such a way that our days become constricted, a step-by-step process of expectations that’s hard to break away from. We lose sight of moving out of those lines because they define our boundaries in such a specific way.

I’m reminded of the calls I’ve been meaning to make to my mom’s 94 year old cousin........

© Psychology Today