"I love you, Mom" - The ordinary daily life of a foster family (10)

Perhaps because they take after me and are shy,
my biological children don't often put their feelings into words.
But when they were little,their feelings came across clearly even without words.

That was,
in its own way, very cute.

However, currently,
the foster child I have in long-term care is a little different.

"I love you, Mom."

"You're cute, Mom."

They share words like thatquite naturally.

At first, honestly,
I felt a little embarrassed.

But, in truth,
I thought it was nice.I was enviousthat they could express themselves so honestly.

I have always
been bad at saying such things honestly.

Even if I felt love,
even if I felt someone was precious,

I thought it would get across
without having to go out of my way to say it.

That is how I used to think.

But,
while watching this child express themselves so honestly,my way of thinking changed a little.

Getting across
and putting into words
might be a little different.

Lately,
I have been trying to put things into words little by little.

"You're always so cute."

"You are precious to me."

If it were the old me,I don't think I could have said that out of embarrassment.

So today, too,
when I am told"I love you, Mom,"

I...

"I love you too, Mom."
I reply.

I'm still a bit shy about it, but
it's not a bad feeling.