As a child, I remember getting lots of bumps and scrapes. Sometimes those bumps and scrapes would include tears. I would run to my mom for comfort. She would look at what I had done, scrutinizing every detail, talking to me about what happened. Just those moments alone with my mom would help ease my hurts. After she bandaged me or dusted me off, she would offer to kiss it and make it better. And, it was. That simple kiss was magical. It helped the hurt go away.
I know, logically, that the kiss didn't heal my hurts. The kiss was an expression of love and comfort.
Now that I'm a mom, I kiss boo boos and owies to help them go away. Since Ginny was a baby, if she had a hurt, I kissed it to make it better. I would tell her this even when she was too young to understand. My goal was to acknowledge the hurt and hope my love would make things feel better. Tears would slow down after the gentle kiss and a cuddle. The pain would ebb. In the place of my crying girl would be my playful daughter.
Ginny is no longer a baby. Her spunky spirit fills our home with her desire for independence that marks most 2-year-olds. Yet, now if she hurts herself, she will cry and ask, "Mommy, kiss it and make it better?" I always oblige. I oblige even if it is the simplest bump; one that I know doesn't really hurt. She just wants the kiss, the love, the comfort from Mommy.
Wouldn't it be nice if a kiss could ease all our hurts? The hurts that we face as adults. The pain we see in the world. I've struggled quite a bit in my life. I've come out the other side. No kiss solved my problems. However, knowing I was loved by my mom and my dad, helped ease the hurt, even as an adult. I didn't feel alone. Perhaps that is the point of kissing a hurt away. It is a sign that you aren't alone in your struggle.
Someday, my beautiful daughters will be adults going through all the challenges that life has to offer. They will face heartache and pain. My kiss won't do anything to take it away, but I hope that my love will always be there to offer them comfort and ease the hurt in some small way.
This post originally appeared on Adventures of a Jayhawk Mommy. Follow Adventures of a Jayhawk Mommy on Facebook to receive updates.