Like a Broken Record

Every day, I tell my kids things like:

“I love you.”

“You’re so pretty.”

“Why are you so handsome?”

“How did I get to have such a smart kid?”

“You’re so kind.”

“You’re the best.”

No, this isn’t another mental health advocacy post. It’s just one of the parenting habits I’ve been trying to be consistent with: speaking life into my children.

And so far, I think it’s serving its purpose.

This morning, I asked Bubbles, “Have you ever talked about suicide in school?”

“Yes,” she said.

“What about it do you talk about?”

“That it’s a sin,” she answered. “You’re taking away God’s greatest gift to you.”

I was already proud at that point, but I also wanted to make sure she understood the weight of mental struggles, too.

So I asked, “If you ever come to a point where you feel so tired or sad, do you think you’d ever think about…”

Before I could even finish, she cut me off with a firm, “No.”

Then she said, “God gave me this beautiful life. Also, I wouldn’t want your sacrifices to go to waste. I can always talk to you. And we can always pray.”

My heart melted right there.

So I asked where she learned all that.

She said, “Honestly? You’re like a broken record, Mommy. You always talk about how good I am and how good life is. And also from Ma’am Vangie in CLF.”

And in that moment, I was reminded: it really does take a village.

I can’t thank our partners, my kids’ teachers, enough for helping us raise children like this.