I found the note....

Last night I found a note that my 7yr old wrote. It said “I hav a horbel famle. I hayt them.”
I felt a mixture of emotions, as I am sure most parents do. Then I wondered if she really meant it. Then I said to myself, of course she did not mean it. It would have been easier for me though if she would have told me to my face that she hates me. Then I would have an inkling as to why. But to write it down seems disturbing. Then I think she is copying what some of her other friends say about their parents. I was still upset because we have tried so hard to love and be loved by her. How could my daughter whom I love so dearly despise me? Then I think of how brave that was to put it down in writing instead of yelling it to me when she was angry at me. I find that was her way of letting us know that she felt secure enough to put her feelings of anger into words. This note was not hidden in her room, but written in her doodle book that sits in the kitchen where anyone could look at it. “I hate you” is just the first of many zingers our children will spout out when they are angry at us. From Kindergarten to about grade 7, we will hear a number of these zingers, such as: “You always say NO!”, “Dad is nicer than you”, “You’re so unfair!”. The list could go on and on..... Though it is very hard not to boil over at moments like these, the best way to deal with it is to take a deep breath and focus on the emotions, not the word or statements made. I let her know that it is OK to be mad, angry, sad etc. We all feel that way sometimes. I reassured her that even when she is being really naughty and getting into trouble, I still love her and I could never hate her. I may not like what she says or how she acts, but I will always love her because she is my daughter. She told me she wrote the note before her 7th birthday and before we bought her those beautiful dresses. She was upset that I made her wear pants the one day she went to day camp at the park and it was pouring rain and she wanted to wear a dress.
She told me that she doesn’t really hate our family. Then she wrote in her doodle book “ I have a good famile. I love them.”