What's Love Got to Do, Got to Do with It?

Copyright 2005

Valentine's Day is officially over. The flowers have that second-day wilt, and the cards are oh... somewhere. Little brown wrappers with chocolate bits lay scattered throughout the corners of the house, only to be discovered at a later date... gentle reminders of the holiday, or burden of parenthood. What I will remember most about yesterday... not the sly kisses from my husband or the cheek-kisses from my babies... but rather, I will most likely linger on this conversation...

Cuddlebug(my son): I've been thinking... I don't know if I'll ever fall in love.

Funky: Sweetie, you're 12. You will fall into crush a hundred times between now and adulthood. One day you will fall in love. Today, just be a kid.

Cuddlebug: I've also been thinking...how do you know if you're in love, or if it's just a crush?

Funky: That's not an uncommon question. Everyone wonders that. All I can tell you is that love feels very different. It's like a crush on crack. When it hits you, you'll know it.

Cuddlebug: Another thing I've been thinking... Is love real, or is it just something we invented so we don't have to be alone?

Funky: *after a silent moment of contemplating the depth of my 12yr old son's mind* That's a very deep thought, Ty. I don't know what to say to that!

Cuddlebug: I've also been wondering...what if the world were ruled by ducks?