Can they be overused?

My cousin uses the expression without reserve and I admire that.  She has told me multiple times that she loves me and I know she does.  She ends most every phone call with that exact sentiment.  I decided one day after hanging up with her that I would adopt her ease of telling those I cared for that I love them . . . and that I would do it often.  

All these years later I have a house full of little people who use those words freely and often.  "I love you" was swirling around with reckless abandon this morning as my sweetheart gathered up his briefcase and suit coat, each child yelling it louder than the next as they waited for it's echo back.  

My 6 year old kissed both my cheeks and my forehead before he left for school.  As he walked down the sidewalk he turned and flashed me the "I love you" sign he learned when his voice had failed him as a toddler.

My 12 year old and his best friend just left after enjoying a healthy lunch of chips and ice cream.  "I love you mom," he yelled over his shoulder as he jumped on his ripstick.

And that precious little voice that's yelling, "Mama?"  When I answer she swoons, "I love you."  Just her way of checking my whereabouts in the house throughout the day.

So can those three little words be overused?  

No.

I love them.