what_does_love_mean raze as much as i complain about facebook, every so often i see something that makes me glad i'm still on it. like this, which someone linked to this morning. i haven't been able to figure out what the original source is. and maybe you've seen it before. if you have, i think it's worth revisiting. the premise here is that a group of kids between the ages of four and eight were asked "what does love mean?" and these were their answers. i chopped out the article's preamble and postscript; i don't like the way the writer treats the whole thing like a competition and almost condescends to the idea of children saying meaningful things. after reading these answers, i think instead of us trying to explain to little people what love is, maybe we should just let them tell us. "when my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore. so my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. that's love." — rebecca (age 8) "when someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. you just know that your name is safe in their mouth." — billy (age 4) "love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other." — karl (age 5) "love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your french fries without making them give you any of theirs." — chrissy (age 6) "love is what makes you smile when you're tired." — terri (age 4) "love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is okay." — danny (age 7) "love is when you kiss all the time. then when you get tired of kissing, you still want to be together and you talk more. my mommy and daddy are like that. they look gross when they kiss." — emily (age 8) "love is what's in the room with you at christmas if you stop opening presents and listen." — bobby (age 7) "if you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate." — nikka (age 6) "love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it every day." — noelle (age 7) "love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well." — tommy (age 6) "during my piano recital, i was on a stage and i was scared. i looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling. he was the only one doing that. i wasn't scared anymore." — cindy (age 8) "my mommy loves me more than anybody. you don't see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night." — clare (age 6) "love is when mommy gives daddy the best piece of chicken." — elaine (age 5) "love is when mommy sees daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than robert redford." — chris (age 7) "love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day." — mary ann (age 4) "i know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones." — lauren (age 4) "when you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you." — karen (age 7) "love is when mommy sees daddy on the toilet and she doesn't think it's gross." — mark (age 6) "you really shouldn't say 'i love you' unless you mean it. but if you mean it, you should say it a lot. people forget." — jessica (age 8) 130413 ... unhinged . yeah i need more kids in my life 130414 ... Risen To me, love doesn't mean a thing unless it is selfless. So many people say they want the one they love to be happy... But there is this hidden proviso that they want that person to be happy *with them*. Love means wanting what will truly make the person you love happy, whatever that is. Love is doing whatever you can to make sure they are happy, even if it means you are not. Love means surrendering yourself. Love means reading Kipling's "If" and Hope's "The Prisoner of Zenda" and finding the happy endings. 130416 what's it to you? who go blather from