Did you ever have a relationship when you were head over heels, out of your mind in love? People do silly, crazy and sometimes extreme things for love. In the 80s, I swooned during the movie "Say Anything" when John Cusack held that silver boom box high over his head as Peter Gabriel’s love song drifted towards the window of his girl. (Based on its size alone, it must have been almost 25 pounds.) But still he stood there in the middle of the road, boom box held high as a declaration of his love for her.
Some people abandon their friends, move away from family, or vow to give up their own happiness just to please the one they love. In my case, I carry around a blue and green dinosaur.
For people that do not have children, there is no way to describe the love that you feel for your child. It is different than the love you have for your spouse or any other member of your family. I have an ache in my soul that dictates that I keep my children safe and happy. This explains why I do some of the crazy things that so many other parents also do.
If you were to visit my house on any given day, you will probably see me carrying a blue and green, hand knit dinosaur under my arm. He does not belong to me. He belongs to my two-year-old and he adores it. The majority of the time my son drags him around by his floppy leg but even he gets tired of carrying him. That is when the responsibility transfers to me. If I try to set him down on the sly, my son finds him and brings him right back to me. He apparently always needs to be held because according to my son, “Elliot gets lonely.” Okay. So it means a lot to my child so I spend my days carefully toting around a dinosaur.
As parents, we make silly faces, dance crazy dances, sing songs in public, and wear anything that our child makes for us. One year, I attended a school program wearing a simple black dress and six bracelets that were strung with all sizes and colors of buttons. Every time I clapped, it sounded like a crazy tambourine. But the proud look on the face of my four-year-old when he saw me wearing his bracelets overshadowed any embarrassment that I felt when I first walked in.
Yes, I do just about anything within reason, to make my children happy but there may be a day that I singing Meatloaf’s famous words, “I would do anything for love, but I won’t do that!”