Can you imagine..

What it would be like to grow up never hearing your own mother telling you that she loves you or that she's proud of you. Never getting a single hug or any kind of affection. And also being blamed for everything that went wrong in your mother's life.

That's exactly what my childhood was like and it's still what my life is like today.

I don't think I've spent that much time thinking about my childhood, to be honest it's something I'd rather forget but there are times when something happens and I just have to look back at the differences between my own childhood and of my childrens'.

I was doing the laundry the other day out in the laundry room we have in the area and my daughter brought all of her sand toys out with her and she spent some quality time with her doll in the sandbox just outside. In between sorting, folding and loading another machine with laundry I went out to talk to her.

As she sees me coming she sais: mommy, I want to play with you. Just a simple statement and it's so natural to her to ask me somthing like this.

And it hit me that I never asked my mother to play with me as a child. I spent all of my days alone or with friends never having any alone time with my mother. I don't think I ever told her that I love her simply because she never said that to me.

Emma can come up to me just to tell me that she loves me, she gives me a hug and a kiss and then she's off again.

Everyday I tell my children that I love them and that I'm so proud of them! I tell them how special they are to me and that I'm so lucky to have them. Everytime they do something to be proud of I tell them that they've done a good job and that I'm proud of them.

And if you're reading this blog and you have a child of your own or is close to one - tell this child how much you love him, that you're proud of her and do this at least once a day. Let this child go to sleep every night knowing that it's loved.

There is no greater gift than the gift of love.