Baby Kisses

I used to tell my friend Lisa to knock on my door and ask me to play precisely at the time I was to go down for my afternoon nap. Mom would feel bad because Lisa walked all the way down the street, and Id be so excited, shed let me go play. And skip nap time!

Children hate nap time, until they get to be 23, and they're the ones sitting in a daycare classroom rubbing multiple backs of crying children, and THEY are the ones trying to explain, "when you get to be my age you're reeeeeally going to miss nap time, you know." That's what I was doing thisaft, anyways.

And then there was Atticus. He's this tiny little 5 year old, like teeny tiny, with choppy short hair, and the oddest teeth that aren't big, but they till stick out sort of funny? He wouldn't sleep. Just refused. I tried turning him onto his tummy, and threatening that if he kept his friends awake with his whining, they'd all be cranky and not want to play with him. I use that line with my boyfriend too, swapping 'whining' with 'Nintendo noises' and 'play with' with 'have sex with'.. Men care more about sex with their girlfriends though, then children care about playing car with their snotty-faced classmates.

So I'm getting impatient, and he's flailing his bony little arms around, so I take his hands and hold them on his bed, with my hand on top of his. And as I'm trying to explain that if he does not give his hands a rest, I assume they're too tired to play with toys later...he kisses me. This most minuscule smidge of a kiss. Not a kiss on the hand, but a tiny little kiss, on my finger?! Like the tip of my finger, with his thin little lips pursed real soft, and just barrrrrely touched them to my finger.

I truly, nearly died.

He looked up at me and smiled, as if it was no big deal, just a measly little kiss, and just stared at my hand on his. Of course he'd have no reason to think that a silly kiss like that would melt his teacher's heart! Have you ever been licked by a newborn kitten?! All fluffy and tiny, and they can't really see, and their rough little tongue just peeks out? It is the smallest, sweetest thing imaginable. Just a smidge of a kiss, in a whole huge world. A kajillion and one things going on 'out there' but I got a kiss in that moment, that made my heart skip a beat.

Needless to say, he was allowed to get up and read on his bed, instead of having a blanket held over his body until he passed out.