I learned that a kiss can really show how much you love someone. But not in the way most adults may see it.
Last night my daughter crawled on to my bed and said that she loves me. I asked her how much. Then she said She loves me as much as 100 kisses. So I told her to kiss me that much. Without hesitation she begun to peck my cheeks. She counted out load with every kiss. Ever now and then she would pause and look at me so I can coach her to say the next number. After the hundredth kiss was planted on my cheek she told me that her lips were tired. But what she said after took my breathe away. She told me that 100 kisses were not enough to show how much she lives me. After several moments of contemplation she came up with a really huge number -121 kisses. And then she begun kissing me again while counting out load. Of course I stopped her. I can’t imagine letting her go through more than a hundred kisses.
Children have a very different idea of what love is all about. More importantly, how they measure is a lot different than adults. The combination of innocence and honest affection are lacking in many of us. What is even more spectacular is how they will go out of their way to show how they love us even if it may seem ridiculous to us. I guess that is what makes the love of a child special and true – the ability to see true love even when others see the gesture as insane or weird.
If we can only love at a level like kids do we will not be ashamed to burst in jubilation or take unconventional ways to say we love someone. After all, for a child 121 is a ridiculously large number equal only to the intensity of the love they have for us. And the truth is, I believe her that 121 is a huge number. Not much because of mathematics but because in her own innocent way, she knows that love requires more than what we have done previously. And that we have to make an effort to do more for someone we love. So yes, I believe that 121 is a really huge number.