A Kiss and a Hug

A few months back it became a daily ritual for Jacob to get a kiss and a hug from Zach before he goes to work. Then it became something that was generalized to me, in that I had to get a kiss and a hug from Daddy as well. This was annoying at first because I had to drop whatever I was doing to meet Zach at the door, but after a while I started to think that maybe Jacob had the right idea. He's keeping us connected in a small way, but it's something important, and something we're not always able to do for ourselves when we get into such busy routines of passing each other as one comes home from work and the other heads out the door. But this is not my point...

In addition to "A kiss and a hug for Mommy," it soon became, "And a kiss and a hug for Ginger!" And then you know that Mango would need one too. It's sort of delivered as one big word, "Tissanahug!" If there is anyone else at our house at this point, they need a kiss and a hug too. Jacob makes no discriminations. My mom, any child I happen to be baby-sitting, the rabbits, and on days when Jacob really wants to prolong Zach's departure, inaminate objects even get it.

So of course I am now required to deliver the kiss & hug when I am leaving for work. If Grandma and Papa are here, and they go to leave, sometimes they are even asked to distribute the love. It is something that can get awkward at times, but also kind of a nice reminder to always be letting our loved ones know that they are just that.

And if Jacob and I are leaving the house while Zach is here, he must accompany us out to the car and give the hugs and kisses there. We have to make sure that Jacob is looking when the hugging occurs because if he doesn't see it, it's like he doesn't belief us when we tell him we did hug. It's not that we let our child boss us around all the time, but this is something that I think is important for him to witness and I think it's ok to give him little bits of control now and then.

You know all the backing-up-from-the-end-of-the-driveway I've written about? Well this is often the cause of it. Because sometimes Jacob forgets, but he, too, remembers and it is right up there on his list of ultimate tragedies. This is something I will always back up for. Because what if something happens and it ends up being the last time...