... but sometimes, only requires 3.

Love. You. Forever.

See, when Kole was young, we found a book by Robert Munsch called "Love You Forever".

Now this is a GREAT book.

Yes sir.

It made Grandma cry EVERYTIME she read it!

It is a story about a mother, who every night, holds her new born baby boy, and sings him a song:

I'll love you forever,

I'll like you for always,

As long as I'm living,

My Baby you'll be.

In the story, the little boy grows and grows and grows, until he buys a house and moves across town. But even then, on some nights, when the mother is lonely (and maybe just a little clingy), she would drive across town, crawl through his open window (which caused him to almost have a nervous break down thinking his house was getting broken into every night!) and held him tight while he slept, still singing the song:

I'll love you forever,

I'll like you for always,

As long as I'm living,

My Baby you'll be.

The book paints this absolutely beautiful picture of a Mothers love!

But then towards the end of the book, she calls her son up, says that she is old and sick, and he better come soon.

When he enters her room, she tries to sing the song, but she is too weak, and can not finish it.

So the boy (who is now a man, deathly afraid of thieves who keep breaking into his house and re-arranging his sock drawer) picks up his mother, and sings to her:

I'll love you forever,

I'll like you for always,

As long as I'm living,

My Mother you'll be.

Beautiful! Tears EVERYWHERE! Grandma could NOT make it thought the book without crying! At baby showers, SOMEONE would always buy the book, and then make Grandma read it.

So what did we do for Grandmas Birthday a few years back?

We bought her a NICE Hard Cover version of the book which came in a hard collectors sleeve!

And our Dear Son, at the tender age of 2 would climb up on his Grandmothers lap, and ask her to read it over, and over and over and over. And Grandma would cry and cry and cry.

Now I was pretty immune to this book when I was younger. But by the time our 3rd child came around, I noticed I started getting a little choked up while reading it... normally around the time when the Son was singing to the mother.

I'm not sure why I've changed over the years.

1. Maybe its the maturing process I've gone though.
2. Maybe its a deeper understanding of life, love and loss.
3. OR MAYBE, its the fact that children are like a meat tenderizer to our parental meaty souls and we can only stay so rough and rugged for so long before their little adorable constant never ending assault on our lives leave us as nothing but a pulverized mess of our former selves?!

I donno about you, but after 4 kids, I'm going with Option #3 above.

Anyway, a while back, SOMEONE bought my daughter a book called "Dance Me, Daddy" by Cindy Morgan.

Now, unlike that Munsh rubbish mentioned before, THIS book is about a Father and his Daughter. In THIS book, the little girl grows from a baby to a woman who, instead of being stalked by a crazy obsessive Mother who just can't learn to let go (kidding, I don't think a mother EVER has to totally let go of their children), has a MUCH MORE balanced relationship with her Father, and simply asks her to Dance with her.

Dance me,

Dance me around.

So my feet, never touch down.

There's nothing better than being your girl.

And if I am your Princess,

Then you are,

The King of my World!

Oh CRAP! I'm tearing up just TYPING the darned lyrics! Why do people write these kinds of books!

Anyway, these books are beautiful, just painting this picture of what a parent should mean to their children. And I hope that every parent has those moments when their child looks at them, and curls up on their lap, and sings them a song, asks them to dance... or whatever it is that is so special in your own family.

I guess life is funny that way... here I used to think it was funny that my Mother couldn't make it though a book without crying. Now I get it. :-)

Last night reading the book, I barely made it though the book without totally loosing it. I love Ping, and her questions... "Daddy, Daddy, why you cry?" I try explaining to her that crying is OK sometimes. Sometimes we cry because we are happy, or because we love someone. Oh that was fun. My other daughter knew to just crawl up into her Daddys lap, and snuggle in. Ping, then, looking at her sister, understood more there than all the words I tried to use. She then crawled up on my lap as well, and snuggled in for a nice long cuddle - before it was bed time.

How wonderful to feel her relax in my arms, and really be at peace...

...until I try to give her a good-night kiss - then I get the "NO DADDY! YOU SHAVE! You shave. THEN kiss! No owies!".

*siiiigh*