How to Say ¨I Love You¨ Without Words

My father rarely speaks aloud the words, ¨I love you¨. In fact, I can't recall a single instance, though I'm sure I must have heard it as a child. But there are ways besides words to say ¨I love you¨. And his best, most favorite way has always been with food.

In grade school, on field trip days he would pack the best lunches - sandwiches on sourdough bread thick with deli meat, cheese, lettuce and tomatoes, mayonnaise and mustard (light on the mayo, just the way I liked it); fruit - not the standard apple, orange or banana, but cherries or berries or grapes; the occasional small bag of chips and an orange mango Koala Springs. Sometimes there'd even be a Whatchamacallit or Twix thrown in. The perfect accompaniment to a day at Discovery Park or the Seattle Children's Theater.

In college, when I'd go home to visit (okay, I was also motivated by the ability to do laundry without spending 54 cents for a wash and 54 cents for a dry on my Husky Card), he'd drive back to the campus apartment via 45th and we'd stop off for groceries (despite my mom's groans) at the Wallingford QFC, housed in the same building as the Food Giant where my grandmother shopped in the 50s and 60s. Invariably, I'd also bring back Tupperwares full of leftovers from one of my favorite Papa-dishes: chicken fettuccine or BBQ ribs.

Today he's still taking care of me through food. Last autumn, he made sure to have apple pie ingredients after I'd commented that I missed having apple pie at my grandmother's (she's switched over to blackberry pie at Thanksgiving, due to my brother and uncle, who are more vocal about their preferences than I am). We ran out of time, and ended up baking an apple crisp together instead. On a recent grocery store trip, he added my bottle of fancy Woodinville Barrel-Aged Maple Syrup to his cart.

So I suppose that it's no surprise that I also show my love through food (whenever I worry that Trent is feeling down or overworked, I offer to make Fudgy Cocoa Brownies. I also often pack lunches for him, knowing that he won't do it himself and thinking back to how much I enjoyed my father's lunches for me.)

Today my library staff was in desperate need of love and appreciation. We've had many more people walking through the door than usual using the library, which is wonderful - when everyone acts appropriately. Unfortunately, that doesn't always happen and we've had a few ¨incidents¨. It doesn't help that most of us are sleep-deprived, due to the heat. So I declared today, ¨Pie Day¨ and stopped by Snohomish Pie Company, conveniently located a block to pick up a peach pie. Some days, having treats in the break room is a non-event. I'll look in and be disappointed that my own starter piece is the only one that has disappeared. That was not the case today - after less than two hours, only one largish slice remained.

And hopefully everyone felt just a little bit of extra love.