Kisses Galore

When Deanna was a baby, she really disliked Don's mustache. Even as a newborn, she would wrinkle up her nose and make faces when Don kissed her. As she got older, she got very adept at avoiding his kisses by dodging her head back and forth. Don was crushed. He was 30 when she was born and couldn't wait to shower affection on his little love. I kept telling him that she'd grow into a love for him as she got older and, I was sure, would be "Daddy's girl" very soon. When she hit 3, we gave up. She never really has become Daddy's little girl - she's Mommy's all the way.

When she hit about 2, she began verbal bantering with Daddy over kisses. He'd ask for a kiss and she'd say she was all out. Once, I served corn-on-the-cob for dinner. Deanna couldn't say the whole name, so she shortened it to "cobbon". Cobbon became the name for all types of corn. Cobbons also apparently resided in her tummy because, when Don asked for kisses, she would tell him that the Cobbons hadn't brought any up from her tummy yet. Don, being highly intellectual, would respond with "Tell the Cobbons to bring some kisses up to your mouth for Daddy."

One day, Don asked for a kiss. Deanna, as usual, responded that she didn't have any. Don, attempting to out-think her, smiled and responded that she needed to tell the Cobbons to bring some up. Deanna widened her eyes, looked directly at Don, and retorted that the Cobbons had gone on vacation.

Then Dane was born. When we brought him home from the hospital, we began putting him to bed between us at night. In his sleep, he would reach with his right arm and begin patting his Daddy. He would continue patting until he found Don's mustache and then, in his sleep, would rub it. He loved giving Daddy kisses and would smother Don's mustache with wet, sloppy sugar. Don finally had his baby and Dane loved his mustache.

Next, Daelyn appeared on the scene (it wasn't really quite that sudden - we had at least a few month's warning). He had brother and sissy who needed love, as well as mommy and daddy. In his attempts to spread the affection between all of us, sometimes he'd give these wimpy, peck-like kisses. None of us liked the pecks and the children learned to beg Daelyn for "the good stuff" - juicy, big kisses. Dane would run into the kitchen yelling, "Mama, I got the 'good stuff' from Daelyn."

Everything seemed to be working out great in the kissing department until a close friend of mine, Cindi, pointed out that this might not be a great practice when the kids hit their teens. She described an imagined scene for me - Daelyn meeting his girlfriend's parents for the first time.

Girl's Father: "So, do you like my daughter?"
Daelyn: "Oh, yes, I think she's wonderful. But I can't convince her to give me the 'good stuff'
just yet. Maybe soon."

We decided to settle for the term "nice kisses" and do away with "the GOOD stuff". The most important thing, after all, is that lots of affection is shared amongst family members - all family members, not just Mommy. Daddy and his mustache need his share, as well.