My Kids Language of Love

Have you ever heard of that book, The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman and Ross Campbell? I've heard and, very recently, requested it through my library (which I highly recommend...not necessarily the books--I'll let you know about it after I get it done, but the method of getting them: THROUGH YOUR LOCAL LIBRARY). I've also requested The Five Love Languages of Children. Supposedly, these books talk about how people express their love in different ways, and it might not be how YOU need love expressed (and vice versa).

So, that got me thinking: how do my kids show their love to me? These are a few things that I've noticed just today:

1) "Flowers": My children pick me random wild "flowers" (aka: dandelions) that begin wilting almost the moment they are given to me. I try to be effusive every time they give them to me because I know the intent, whilst hiding the fact that I actually get a bit grossed out by them being in my hand. But it's true...it's a sign they love me and that they know I love flowers that daddy gives me (aka: roses, hot house flowers), so they are doing what they can to mimic that.

2) "Hugs/Wipe Nose": My children have all gone through this phase, and I'm not sure if I should count this as a true expression of love or a true expression of convenience. It's where my kids come up to me, arms raised because they want to be picked up and then give me a huge, loving hug...right before they wipe their nose across my shoulder. You can see my dilemma. But still, the hug is nice and happily, once they pass the toddler stage, the snot part tapers off dramatically so all I get are normal hugs which are drastically more enjoyable.

3) "The random kisses": My kids still do this, regardless of age, and I've notice the more randomness of it while I'm pregnant. What they do is kiss me at the most convenient-to-them spot: my arm, my hand, my thigh...you get the picture. When I'm pregnant, though, they like to send greetings to New Baby as well, so they kiss whatever bump on me they feel might contain new baby. When I'm sitting, this often means my bosom is fair game (I'm not sure how they miss the growing stomach, but still). This brings up the subject for another (somewhat humiliating) post: Appropriate Touching of Children to Adults, especially in public. I'm sure I'll be getting to that soon.

Regardless, isn't it interesting? How do you show love to your family and vice versa, and do they know it's a sign of YOUR love for them? Hmmmmm. Let's take a moment to think about it, shall we?