Ouch.

"Mommy, I love you so much!"

These spontaneous, unsolicited proclamations make any mom's heart sing, particularly because when they come, we know that they are coming from a place of truth.  Several times a day, Jakub tells me he loves me and gives me kisses, and despite the frequency, it never loses its magic.  Jakub also often tells me I'm beautiful, which is equally heartwarming.  But children can also sometimes deliver zingers, like this morning, when I came out of the bedroom:

Jakub: "Mommy, why do you have an ugly face?"

I'm not sure what expression was displayed upon my face (most likely a look of extreme pain), but it must have been something pretty strong, because when Jakub saw my face, he smiled sheepishly,

Jakub: "Oh, sorry...."
Me: "Why did you say that?
Jakub: "Because I saw you and I saw your face was ugly."

OK, I'm not naive.  I know I don't look great in the mornings without makeup, especially directly after having washed my face; the red areas redder, the dark circles under my eyes darker, but.....Ouch.

Later I realized that whenever Jakub asks me why I'm putting on makeup, I say "So I'll look pretty," so maybe, just maybe, it was his offhand way of asking why I wasn't wearing makeup?  I hope....However, half an hour later in the car, out of nowhere, he said, "Mommy, you look so beautiful."  For the record, I was still not wearing makeup, since I was going running after I dropped him off at school, so maybe he was feeling guilty and wanted to make up for the earlier punch in the gut, or maybe he really meant it, but either way, I appreciate these kinds of comments a lot more.