love (luv) n.

I picked the boys up from school yesterday.
Jack jumped in the truck and proclaimed in a very excited voice
"Did you know that bitch means female dog?"
Thank goodness they're learning something at school...
(no that actually was not my first thought)
"Yes, I did."
"We got dictionaries at school today, and the b-word is in there!"
"Great news son, great news..."
I'm sure when the teachers passed out those dictionaries they quickly regretted it when all the little 3rd graders began looking up swear words.
lovely...

Jack's new Dictionary for Students also has the meaning of the word love.

love –n.
1: great and warm affection (as of a child for a parent)
2: a great liking
3: a beloved person

One of my dearest friends, Karen, has fulfilled what I know has been a dream of hers...
she published her first book.
simply called love (luv) n.
Karen and I have been friends since the 6th grade.
Both of us grew up having artists as parents
and some of my fondest memories involve our creative endeavors together...
making paper dolls, drawing while discussing fashion magazines
and making drinks from dandelions.

As we grew older, we took different paths, but our friendship has remained...
Karen lives in NYC now, where she embarked on her love research -
(in her words)
"Seven years ago, after the events of 9-11, combined with a family crisis, I found myself questioning love. With a pending marriage less than a year away, I decided I needed answers. The somewhat unusual solution I came up with would change my life forever: I began to interview perfect strangers. Setting up a Love Research booth in public spaces, I enticed passing New Yorkers by offering them a single red rose in exchange for responding to five questions about love. Hundreds of interviews and flowers later, these revealing and fleeting encounters not only gave me an archive of fascinating stories from people of all walks of life, they also forced me to examine my own understanding of love." What does love mean to you?
Have you ever fallen in love?
Has your love ever been tested?
How do you prepare for love?
Who are your love heroes?

I decided to conduct a little love research of my own,
separately asking each of my boys 3 questions about love.

Jack:
What does the word love mean to you?:
"A liking between one another...a LIKE-ing"
Name three things you love:
(this made Jack nervous at first because he said there were "four of us"...I told him he could lump us together as "family")
"My family, the planet I live on and food and water"
Do you think love is increasing or decreasing in the world?
"I think it's staying the same. Can I say same?"

Colten:
What does the word love mean to you?
"It means you care about someone or something"
Name three things you love:
"Soccer, my family and food...(pause)...no, change food to God"
Do you think love is increasing or decreasing in the world?
"Decreasing, because of war, the economy and a lot of celebrities are getting divorced"

Jared:
What does the word love mean to you?
"It's a feeling of putting your spouse before yourself or your needs....or someone else, but it's about putting them before yourself"
Name three things you love:
"Soccer, Math, my family...no... change math to God"
Do you think love is increasing or decreasing in the world?
"Decreasing. Now you hear about people having multiple marriages instead of the biblical one... and cheating and divorce and all of that"

I'm so glad that the 3 things you love were in no particular order....
math, or God.
heehee... and Colten's answer about celebrities made me crack up,
"Why are you laughing Mom? They are...and it's not good."

I love blogging.
I do.
I love the people I've met, the friendships created.
I love keeping in touch through blogging,
I love looking back and remembering what we've done as a family...
and the funny things the boys have said along the way...

Here is where my "three readers" {*wink*} come in to play...
I'm super proud of my friend...
I was so excited to walk into Barnes and Noble and buy her book!
It's such a sweet little book,
I'd love to pass some love around...
so if you'd like a copy of Love, I'd love to send you one...
I have an extra...
In your comment you could answer a question about love,
or tell me about something you'd love for Christmas...
or just say "hi"
leave a comment...
and I'll have Jack draw a name next week.
xoxoxoxo