I Kissed a Girl and I Liked it; Well, Sort of~

When we first met up with Jen, Jack, Kate and Gretchen, they were exhausted, overwhelmed and covered in Disney pixie-dust.  They had spent the day shlepping around Disneyland, Moo-Moos and all, and as wonderful as that can be, it is tiring beyond measure.  Jack snuggled into each one of us as he dreamed peacefully about flying, about all of the stuff that nine year old boys dream of after a busy day at Disneyland. When he woke up momentarily, he crawled sleepily into my lap, looked at me with his  big, gorgeous brown eyes, and took the Moo-Moo that he was holding and wrapped its fuzzy legs around my neck.  Before I received a hug from my boy, I received one from his loyal, somewhat stinky, but oh-so-well loved friend.  I melted into a puddle of mush.  Jack is not that much shorter than I am, but he fit perfectly into my lap.  We sat heart to heart as Jack sunk back into blissful slumber, clinging to my neck the entire time.  I kissed the top of his precious head more times than I can count, knowing that I would not have as much of an opportunity to do so once he arose from his sleep.  Jack is, after all, a nine and a half year old boy.  He smelled like sweetness and boy-sweat and angel, all in one.  An intoxicating nectar which captured my senses on a level that I can hardly describe(especially being the momma of only daughters).  I sat for a few minutes taking it all in.  This boy, our boy, who I hadn't seen since he was under a year old, felt like one of my own.  Somehow, the embrace lined our hearts up perfectly.  I could feel the unbridled energy of this little boys heart connecting with the rhythm of my own and it was good.  I could feel our hearts connecting as if to say, "Ah, there you are."  Jen always said that she felt as if Jack and I were kindred spirits.  When the food showed up at our table, I refused to let go of Jack's sleepy body so my beloved husband cut my food up and fed me careful bites over Jack's fuzzy head.  Jen also took turns placing bites of chicken gently into my mouth while Angel Daughter Number Four bonded quickly with sweet little Kate.  Kate, Jack's sister, is six and does not really like to have her picture taken, but I snuck in some cute ones with her permission, later on.  The restaurant was noisy and full of other people, but the love at our table was affirming and intimate.  After a while, a long while, I asked my husband if he would like to hold Jack.  We passed him gently as he continued to sleep, a mixture of Disney-fatigue and strong pain medications.  I watched Mark cradle this precious boy as they fell into one another.  The look on my husband's face described the bittersweet feelings in his heart.  So sweet.

Jack woke up when Jen and Gretchen were collecting their luggage from the hotel and he asked me if he could ride home in our car.  He sat in the back seat with AD4 wearing his Mickey Mouse Pirate ears, chatting, asking lots of questions and cuddling.  When AC/DC came on the radio(My husband loves rock music!), Jack asked if we could turn it up.  He tapped his hand on his knee to the pounding rhythm of the music and watched out the window until he spotted a Carl's Jr. sign in the distance.  I asked him if he wanted to stop and he said YES!  He could have asked for the moon and we would have found a way to lasso it for him.

We set everyone up in our beach house and left them to rest the day off.

The next day when we got back to the house, Jen was taking pictures of Jack in the perfect sunset.  Angel Daughter Number One and Angel Daughter Number Four hopped in for a few shots.  We told Jack to give AD4 a kiss on the cheek.  After a bit of coaxing and cajoling, Jack gave in reluctently.

Since we were on a role, we asked Jack to give AD1 a kiss so that she wouldn't feel left out.  He started to get the hang of it very, very quickly!  Soon, he was giving out kisses without making the face.  He is such a trooper!

Well, sort of.   Here is how Jen was really able to convince Jack to kiss on the girls.  She used something a bit more tangible in the mind of a nine and a half year old boy, crafty mom.  Bribery!  When Jen began to renegotiate the terms after the kisses were already deposited, Jack started to get very upset.  Somehow, the forty dollar price started to come down as Jen reminded Jack about some of his outstanding debts.  His displeasure only lasted a few minutes and then, Jack was back to being his happy, smiley self again although I wasn't quite sure why.  After all, he had been duped into kissing not only one girl, but two!!!  

It was then that I noticed the two men with their heads together, my dear husband looking a bit satisfied with himself and Jack, holding his handmade, duct-tape(guys and their duct tape!) wallet in his hand.  When I asked Jack what Uncle Mark had given him, he sheepishly withdrew a $100.00 bill(Dad, you would be very proud.) from inside of his wallet.  Mark, understanding Jack's anguish over having negotiated a price for some photos and kisses, immediately pulled Jack aside, told him to share the money with his sister, and slipped a $100.00 bill into Jack's hand.(Sorry, Jen)  But there could be no price too large to satisfy the heart of this precious little man.  He is a unique old soul in a young, failing body who landed upon this earth to teach us all so very much.  Quite honestly, I think he would have kissed the girls cheeks without being bribed, but don't tell any of his friends that.  We will just leave it as an understanding between two men, and a $100.00 bill tucked safely into a duct-tape wallet.  That is their story and they're sticking to it.


*More information on how to follow Jack in the post below.