Did You Tell Your Kids You Love Them Today?

"I want to tell you that from the moment you were in my belly, I loved you dearly. I love you then, today and always. You are my world, my everything. Without you, there's no me."

That's the letter high school football player Damian Sanchez got from his mom when his football coach sent letters home asking the parents to write down how they feel about their sons in a letter.

Then he had the players bring them back in a sealed envelope.  One day he had them all together for a meeting and passed out the letters.

What happened next took everyone by surprise. For the next 15 minutes or so, wherever Matsumoto looked he saw players sobbing — against walls, in corners, bent over in chairs.
"I've never seen anything like it," said Shalls Jacome, the team's 22-year-old offensive coordinator.

Letters of love

Players read letters their parents wrote to them.

Cesar Orozco, a senior offensive lineman, broke down when he read what his mother had written in Spanish: "You know deep inside I love you. And you're the most important thing in my life. You know I would die for you."
"I don't really get told that at home," Cesar said. "For me to be reading that, it really touches me."
John Mercado, a sophomore lineman, sobbed so hard reading his mother's letter that he had to pause before finishing. He had come close to quitting the team when his parents lost their jobs and needed financial help.
His mother wrote in Spanish: "I'm very proud. You're the nicest kid I've ever raised and during hard times you don't ever ask for anything."

 This is more than just a feel good human interest story.  This is a pretty stark and amazing testament to everyone's need for love.  While it makes total sense and I've believed that if everyone had a loving, caring family, there would be no wars, it still was surprising.   It's worth reading the whole thing.  We should always try to find the human being hidden in the bodies, and behind the facades, all around us.  When you find that real person inside  you can have authentic conversation and communication. 

Here's the link to the whole LA Times story. 

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