Love you Forever

"I'll love you forever,

I'll like you for always,

as long as I'm living

my baby you'll be."

These words stuck with me growing up. Let me tell you why...

One day my elementary school class was brought into the school library. We were told a guest speaker was arriving to read us a couple of stories he wrote. When the man walked in, he told us his name was Robert Munsch, and he wrote many books. My class was seated in three neat rows in front of Mr. Munsch. He opened up a briefcase and pulled out a book called "Love you Forever." Mr. Munsch told us that he wrote this story from a song he made a few years ago after his children passed. I hung on to every word as he read his story out loud.

"A mother held her new baby and

very slowly rocked him back and forth,

back and forth, back and forth.

And while she held him, she sang:

I'll love you forever,

I'll like you for always,

As long as I'm living

My baby you'll be."

Mr. Munsch put so much feeling into that first page that I started to tear up a bit. I could picture myself sitting in a rocking chair with my baby singing that song. That was the moment where I made a promise to myself that I would read this story to my first baby every night before bed.

I finally purchased this book in my teen years one day in Walmart. There was a shelf dedicated to Mr. Munsch. I considered buying a few books, but I only grabbed "Love you Forever." That night I sat with the book and decided to read it and relive that memory of when Robert Munsch read this story to me that day in my school library.

"The boy grew. He grew and he

grew and he grew. He grew until he was a

a teenager. He had strange friends

and he wore strange clothes and he

listened to strange music.

Sometimes the mother felt like she

was in a Zoo!"

I laughed at this page now. Sounded just like my mother. Looking back, I did wear strange clothes. I was in some tomboy grunge phase. But was Backstreet Boys and NSync really that strange of music? Ha-Ha!

Shortly after I bought this book, I became a teen mom. (No, not because of the book, just to make that clear.) While setting up my room to also be a nursery, I placed "Love you Forever" on my dresser. Months later, I gave birth to a baby girl. The very first night that we were home from the hospital, I read my baby that book.

"A mother held her new baby and

very slowly rocked him back and forth,

back and forth, back and forth.

And while she held him, she sang:

I'll love you forever,

I'll like you for always,

As long as I'm living

My baby you'll be."

I did just as promised. I read my baby girl "Love you Forever" every night for months. I did end up switching to other books, but I'll pick up and read my beloved Robert Munsch story once and a while.

My daughter grew. She grew and she grew and she grew. She grew until she was in grade school. When my daughter was learning how to read, she picked up our beloved book one night and wanted to read it to me.

"The son went to his mother.

He picked her up and rocked her

back and forth, back and forth,

back and forth.

And he sang this song:

I'll love you forever,

I'll like you for always,

As long as I'm living

my Mommy you'll be."

That page, at that moment, when my daughter was stumbling through the words the best she could, hit me in a new way. It was like this page was happening in real-time. SHE was now reading this story to ME. I remember my heart being so whole. Every time I hear this story at different stages in my life, each page becomes a new part of me.

My daughter grew. She grew and she grew. She grew until she is now 20 years old. Even though she is in university and no longer lives at home. I know exactly what I will be giving her the moment my first grandchild is born. So she can read "Love you Forever" every night before bed, and I can only hope the feeling I felt will be with her as she reads this story to her first baby and have her heart feel whole.

"When the son came home

that night, he stood for a long time

at the top of the stairs.

Then he went into the room

where his very new baby daughter

was sleeping. He picked her up in

his arms and very slowly rocked

her back and forth, back and forth,

back and forth.

And while he rocked her he sang:

I'll love you forever,

I'll like you for always,

As long as I'm loving

my baby you'll be."

Bonus Material for laughs :)