Thursday, November 19, 2009

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

12 comments:

lisa truesdell said...

that is awesome. congrats to your friend, and i think i'll pick up a copy for matthew for cmas. =)

tara pollard pakosta said...

I just LOVE YOU!
Your blog, your cute boys!
and you as a friend!!!
their answers were so cute, oh my goodness that Coley is a sweetheart. And isnt' it amazing how the older they get their answers become more complex? I will have to ask my girls this too!
That book sounds gREAT! how awesome that your friend wrote that! How very cooL! it would be a GREAT Valentines Day gift!
hugs friend
xxoo
tara

Jessica O'Brien said...

this is one of my most favorite posts of yours. your boys are always a trip.

i just got married so love is a very present thought of mine these days. my biggest focus in love (husband and friends and family) right now is effort and kindness. effort. kindness. two most crucial things. two quickest to go out the door when times are stressful or busy. if i keep focused on those, the rest falls into place.

essie said...

so already you have more than 3 readers sweetness!
go you!!

my thought on love:
"it's easy to fall...
staying there-is work."
(apparently i'm jaded
and
debbie downer)

i.
love.
you!
and that full treehouse!

rachel m said...

okay coming out of blogland to comment! first off I love your blog- because you give me hope!! I have 2 small boys (age 5 & 2 ) and sometimes think I am not doing a good job as a boy mama. What a great book! I love LOVE and the 3 loves of my life.

Anonymous said...

"Love".....well I'm 47 and in my life love was much easier when I was 15 and in love with my boyfriend....today?...I'm still in love with that same boy but now it's much more complicated! :-)

BTW, I love your blog and always look forward to you sharing your family stories - your boys are very lucky to have a Mom like you!
:-)
CASue

Unknown said...

you have 3 great boys with great answers :) how neat that your friend published a book! i LUV the music on your blog, and i LUV reading your posts!

Laci Strickland said...

Hey, looks like you have way more than 3 readers! Yay! ;)

I am going to purchase this book for sure. Wow, the many lessons I have learned through Love.
Oh! and Jack and the "b word" definition made me laugh so hard. Had to call Randy over to read that one!
Soooo funny.

Shaun said...

You never cease to amaze me! I must say that I love blogging. Why? Because through blogging I have made a great friend in you. And to think we have never even met. I know that someday we will meet and will get along as well as we do online. Does that make sense?
I love reading about how you interact with your family. It is inspiring to me and makes me want to be a better mother; one more like you.
I really don't want anything for Christmas. We are surprising the kids with a trip to Great Wolf Lodge in Charlotte over New Years. That is our Christmas. I guess all I really want is for this year to be over. It has not been the best and of course I know it could have been worse.
I am going to tell Charlie I want your friends book for our Anniversary which is 12/28.
Thanks for the great post! I am now going to go quiz my kids on love.
Love you!

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
meghan said...

E, I love how every time I come to your blog I smile and or chuckle because your stories are so great and your boys so amazing.

I believe love is what makes this entire life of mine go around. xxxoooo

Missy said...

I love that you document these things.

and I love that christmas means jon & I watch love actualy 34983405340980394850 times :)

and I love that i've made friends over this interwebs thing.

and i love that you're one of them :)