I Love You the Orangest

In Barbara M Joose’s book I Love you the Purplest, a great story is told about a mother and her two sons, Max and Julian.  It is a profound book that answers the question, “Who do you love the best?” The wise mama explains that she loves each of her children in their own special way.

The jubilant Max, she loves the “reddest”….

“Why, Max, I love you the reddest!

I love you the color of the sky before it blazes into night.

I love you the color of a leopard’s eyes when it prowls through the jungle and the color of a campfire at the edge of the flame.  A wide open hug. The swirl of a magic cape. The thunder of a shout.”

The quiet Julian she loves the “bluest”

“I love you the color of a dragon fly at the tip of its wing. I love you the color of a cave in its deepest hidden part where grizzly bears and bats curl up until night. The mist of a mountain. The splash of a waterfall. The hush of a whisper.”

Together she loves both her boys the “purplest.”

For Mother’s Day this year, I have written a similar thing for Anna and Taylor for their journals but I've called it “I love you the Orangest”- red for Taylor and yellow for Anna since those are their favorite colors. 

Taylor….

I love you the reddest.

I love you the color of your bike racing past me. 

The sweet memories of you sitting in our Radio Flyer wagons on many an adventure.

Fireworks on the fourth of July.

The blaze of a sunset.

The crackle of a campfire. 

A ruby embedded in granite. 

reddest... 

Anna….

I love you the yellowest. 

I love you the color of the jubilant dance of daffodils in the spring.  

The burst of a sunflower.

Sunrise and morning in your eyes.  

Butterflies with hope for the flowers.

The sparkle on a fairy’s wing.

Pure gold.

yellowest... 

 I love you the orangest...