I come from a family of kissers. From as far back as I remember whenever you went to anyones house you walked in and gave hugs and kisses all around. Today if you go to a family members home and bring a guess they may not get a kiss but they will certainly get a hug.
So today I started to think of just how much I kiss my kids. Khamar will be five in March and he gets the most kisses of anyone I know. I think that in a given day Khamari gets anywhere between 30-50 kisses. This is of course counting kisses in succession. Jordan probably gets about 15-30. She is getting a little older and she is so very ticklish that even getting close to her causes squeels of anticipation and delight which makes it so fun. However because she is getting taller and stronger and more beautiful each day when she squirms under a kiss, she fights a little bit and I am not trying to get knocked out.
As I lay in bed this morning pondering this, I wondered how it would be when my kids were all grown up. When they come to visit will I kiss them as much, ok well half as much and will I still feel the same sense of maternal affection as I do now for all of their innocence and sweetness? I think yes, I may not kiss them as much but I do believe that it will still feel the same. When my mom kisses me, I can tell she still sees me as a baby or at the very least a little girl. When I kiss my baby brother EJ, who is 18 now his skin and smell are still like they were when he was three. When I squeeze my grandmother and kiss her, I still feel as I did when I was six years old sitting on her lap watching The Price is Right. The love and affection never change, they just grow and the sensation on our lips to feel the skin of the ones we hold dear is a testament to how amazing our father in heaven has created all of us.
This New Year we had an opportunity to go and visit with our extended family, we had a wonderful dinner and good conversation. As we all prepared to leave there were hugs and kisses all around and we all said our goodbyes. As I sat in the car getting the kids strapped in and asking them to "Please be quite for a minute" One of these extended family members came to our car to give us all a hug and kiss. This was such a humbling thing for me to be a part of. First of all this young man is about 25 years old with a new baby (she is gorgeous). Secondly he got out of his car after getting his family in, just to come and bid our family farewell with a hug and kiss. I was blessed by this experience and the outpouring of love. It was also kinda funny because while this person was not a blood relative it just proved that my family is drawn to smoochers. That small act of kindness blessed me and I am grateful to come from and be a part of a family filled with love and where love is given and received freely.
