Kisses

Don't get me wrong. Rainzilla strikes every day. Today, for instance, she quietly pushed her stroller to the edge of the garage, gave it a shove, and watched it race down our steep driveway into the street. As it rolled to certain doom, she growled with glee and stomped her feet.

But, there are also times when Rain surprises me in a good way, too. About two weeks ago, I was resting on my bed. Rain was playing beside me while I hoped she'd take a nap. For no reason, she stopped playing and crawled next to my face. Then, quite seriously, she kissed me full on the lips.

Now, as close as my family is, we don't do that. My brothers and sisters hug a lot and are always saying, "I love you." But, we don't kiss on the lips. Sure, we kiss our mama on the cheek, but that's it.

After Rain kissed me, she stared intently at me for a reaction. I was stunned. I had no idea she would do that. Frankly, I was perplexed, so ... I laughed. I felt bad for a second, because I wasn't sure if that was the reaction she wanted. But, when Rain saw I was laughing, she kissed me again. This time she SMOTHERED me. I couldn't breathe (plus, I was laughing hard), so I begged Tim to peel her off me.

Since then, she's kissed me several times as she giggles and hugs me. The funniest part is each time she does it, she approaches me slowly and seriously, then it's all laughs. So, even though Rainzilla shows up every day growling and stomping ... Rainbow isn't far behind.