How much do you love me?

My 14 year old daughter hovered in the doorway between the kitchen and the family room, trying hard not to look completely obvious.

From the corner of my eye I saw her clearly, and it reminded me of when she was three years old and would try to sneak cookies from the kitchen to her bedroom without being discovered.

Without looking away from my computer monitor I spoke to her.

"Okay kid, what do you want?"

"Huh?" she poked her head around the door and tried to look surprised.

"You're hovering," I said as I turned to look directly at her, "the only time you hover is when you want something."

"But..." she tried hard to come up with some valid excuse but my x-ray smile penetrated her.

"Out with it pumpkin pie."

In an instant her entire mood shifted and she was standing at my side, her head laying on my shoulder.

"Mommy," she asked in the same sweet voice as the three year old with cookies in her pocket, "how much do you love me?"

"Did you do something wrong?"

"Nope," she smiled sweetly and batted her giant eyelashes.

"Is this going to cost me anything?"

"Nope," she snuggled closer to me.

"Do you have cookies in your pocket?"

"What?"

"Never mind," I turned around to face her head on, "what is it that you want."

"I was just wondering...." she paused for a second.

"Wondering what?"

"If I could have a friend over tomorrow night?" she smiled again, this time making sure every tooth in her mouth was visible.

"It means you have to clean up your room." I said and turned back to my computer screen.

"So that's a yes?"

"On the condition that you clean your room."

"YES!" she screamed and ran from the room.

It only took her three hours to clear out the cavernous bedroom heaped with the relics of her childhood.

"Come look!" she announced happily and I followed her down the hall to her room.

"Wow," I was stunned as I looked over her accomplishment. "I didn't know you had a rug in here."

"You like it?" She smiled sweetly and jumped into her freshly made bed.

"I love it," I said and leaned over to kiss her forehead the same way I had done when she was three years old, "but not as much as I love you."