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I'm Maggie Smith, and this is the slowdown.

Love is a verb. It's an action.

You can tell someone you love them over and over again.

You can tell them every morning and every night.

You can tell them when you call from out of town

or when you text from work.

You can write it in cards and in emails.

But people know we love them by what we do.

We know we are loved by how we're treated and regarded, by love in action, not by words alone.

My mother is someone who says, I love you a lot, but she shows her love more than she professes it.

She is the kind of mother and grandmother who shows up.

When my sisters and I were young,

you could find our mom at our soccer games and recitals and choir concerts.

Now that she has grandchildren, you can find her at orchestra

concerts and cross-country meets and the games of another generation of soccer players in our family.

She's the kind of mom who makes and freezes multiple meatloaves or pots of homemade soup

...