Friday, January 09, 2009

What Does Love Mean?

My hubby found this in his email and shared it with me. I’m not sure who did this study. If anyone out there has seen this before and knows who to give credit to, let me know.

A group of professional people posed this question to a group of four to eight year olds - "What does love mean?" The answers they got were broader and deeper than anyone could have imagined. See what you think:

"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 OK." 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… everyday."
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." Claire - 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


And the final one - author and lecturer Leo Buscaglia once talked about a contest he was asked to judge. The purpose of the contest was to find the most caring child. The winner was a four year old child whose next door neighbor was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife. Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman's yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there. When his Mother asked what he had said to the neighbor, the little boy said, "Nothing, I just helped him cry."

Blessings,
Nadine

27 comments:

Dawn said...

I've seen this before and absolutely love it!

Marla said...

I haven't read these before and they are the best!

Jennifer said...

i've seen it before as well...beautiful

j said...

These were precious. I like the one about "they go out and smell each other". My husband still hugs me as soon as I get out of the shower ... after I get dressed mind you... so that he can smell my soap and shampoo. Very predictable and very nice.

Tammy said...

This was one of my favorite e-mail forwards...absolutely love it!
The last story especially...

This is a timely post on love since my husband and I just got back from watching Fireproof for the second time...this time our church was showing it for free...it's such a picture of what turns into real love.

Art said...

Those are mostly true. Taken as a group, they would do a good job defining love.

Reminds me of... I had a psych prof in college who said that some people say love means you never have to say you're sorry. BULL$#!+, he said... love means you have to CONSTANTLY say you're sorry!

a woman who is said...

Jenna and I just read these together...giggles and tears,so cute!

Susan said...

I'd see these before but it's been awhile and it was nice to read them. Out of the mouths of babes. Love really is so simply isn't it?
Susan

Anonymous said...

awww that is so sweet!

Smooth Sailing said...

Thanks for sharing that Nadine!
Children are so wonderfully simple!

Kate said...

Looking forward to sniffing shaving cream one of these days. ;)

Scarlet said...

The last one is so sweet...but then aren't they all? Kids are awesome!

I like 4-year old Billy's comment about how someone who loves you says your name different, and you know your name is safe in his/her mouth. Aw...that's quite poetic for a 4-year old.

Bex said...

this was really cute! i never saw it before.

i asked my four year old what love means and he said, "i don't know."

"do i love you?" i ask.

"yes."

"how do you know that?"

"because of the way you hug me."

Shionge said...

Yes I've seen this too and it is wonderful to take a step back and truly this is what love is all about.

Lynda Meyers said...

Beautiful Nadine! Thanks for sharing! (and have fun this week!!)

EM said...

thank you for sharing what love is, miss you tons

palmtreefanatic said...

cute!
I got your book today!
My son said hey that looks like the lady on your blog, i said it is!;)

Dawn said...

I can tell you what love is...

Returning from the frozen north (Ohio) and the funeral of my precious grandmother...

And finding an autographed copy of a book I've been anxiously awaiting!

Thanks, Nadine! I can hardly wait to start reading your book.

Blessings!

Lala's world said...

that was great. I loved "You just know that your name is safe in their mouth", how profound!

Anonymous said...

Wow! Some of those were funny, but most were just plain profound...

Alicia said...

this is just strange to see your blog on love. Since the first moments that the year began. God has been speaking to me about his perfect love. I found out last year I would be co-authoring a devotional with a friend. I didn't know until a couple days after the new year that it would be on Love.. Every where I go I keep running into this love concept. It's just interesting. thanks for posting.

elizabeth embracing life said...

This was a first for me and wow...so tender are the hearts of children. Truly I am blessed everyday with the wisdom coming from my kids.

Bex said...

is everything ok? you are missed in the blogosphere!

Dawn said...

I hope you're okay and that your book is selling well!

GratefulPrayerThankfulHeart said...

Just stopping in to say Hi ~ Hope all is well.

Knitting Mania said...

Great, I laughed and I cried, amazing what comes out of the hearts of our children...honesty!

Steph said...

Oh, I just loved those. And their so true---out of the mouths of babes!

My husband and I like to "smell each other" alot. He loves my perfume, and I love his cologne. We both take the time to say, "you smell so good!" Sometimes that leads to one of those "gross" kisses and then we talk. hee hee

Great post!