"OK, love you, bye."

In my house, the phrase, “I love you,” is said more than anything else. 

It is used interchangeably with the words “hello,” “goodbye,” “thanks for dinner,” “I’m gonna wear this sweater all the time,” “let's end this fight,” “let’s end this conversation,” and “hey, anyone there?”

We use it in every single way you can imagine.

We say it dramatically at the kitchen table like we forgot my brother yelled it from the bathroom two hours ago. 

It is not a phrase we save for birthdays, messily written cards, college drop offs, or near death experiences. 

We use it so much it almost feels like it’s lost its meaning.

 Like it’s not so much about the sentiment of appreciating every aspect about someone. 

It’s said so many times that it’s just accepted as a part of everyday speech. 

Used like some aspiring Southerners use y’all. 

But by saying this more we are not hindering its meaning.

We are enhancing it. 

The more ways a word is used, the more things it means. 

This makes it somewhat confusing, but that’s what love is, confusing, multifaceted, and something that means a different thing to every person. 

I like to think about it like love is something we have long established in our family, something I know we have for each other, so why not remind it to each other as much as we can?

Why not remind the people we care about most why they got out of bed, why they are important and why they matter?

If there is one word that is not spoken enough it’s love, we all have it for someone. 

Let's remind them of it.