Listen When Children Speak

One of my main purposes for simplifying our household consumption and embarking on the

radical homemaking path

was that it would free up precious time and space for me to be present with my two sons. The gift of unobstructed time and space and the togetherness it facilitates is essential to our survival as a family.

I have lots of conversations with my eldest son, Walker. He's a pretty chatty guy with lots of ideas and questions. In fact, I've been journaling our conversations for the past three years. The pages of my journals look like mini scripts, cataloging our interactions. Some of them are hilarious and some of them are heartbreaking.

Every night before bed, Walker spends a little time with my husband and I cuddling and chatting about the day. It's such an important part of our life that we included it in our

family manifesto

. Our evening cuddle is a great way for my husband and I to check in with our son, hear what thoughts are rattling around in his brain and assure him that we're always here for him. This weekend, when my son began expounding on his ideas of LOVE, I asked if I could film him and share his thoughts with others. He agreed and the video below is what followed.

If you'd like to share Walker's thoughts on LOVE with your community, you have his permission. When I told him that I wanted to put this video on my very public blog, he said, "Maybe if you share our video, people will see it and remember that everyone deserves love."