K.I.S.S.

 “Is not a kiss the very autograph of love?” (Henry Finck) 

Sorry this isn’t that kind of Blog.  So emphatically, no, not now. I’m not gonna get all Prime Time FBI super smart Jeffersonian Bone Doctor on you. No denying that kind of kiss exists briefly in fleeting moments throughout life, and forever in Sandra Bullock movies. But today, right now, while you’re reading this, KISS is an acronym.  Keep It Simple ____. The beauty of this acronym is its scalability, a spectrum…..Keep It Simple (Sir, Silly, Stupid, Sh_thead) you get to pick your last S, the idea is the same the impact varies.  KISS is my new mantra.

Thirty minutes before we left from our 6^th and last family holiday overindulgence fest, the kids spotted snow.  Flakes sped through the flood light cast onto the garden and were magnified in size and impact as they slowly and steadily coated the summer picnic table.  The boys stood still for the first time all day and took it all in, waiting, anticipating, until it was too much.  With a half of an inch of snow on the ground, they erupted into a frantic wave of hands and feet, coats and gloves, floundering to be the first into enough clothing to escape the grandparents’ grasp and get into the snow.

It was astonishing to see kids who regularly take 10 minutes to tie a shoe, speed dress into extra layers and gladly don hats, without so much as a parental whimper.  Usually that kind of speed requires liberal use of the verbal cattle prod.  Not tonight, they flew out the door, ran into the spotlight, and stopped.  Transfixed by the light?  Nope.  Mouth open, Head inclined, Tongue out they chased the flakes trying to catch one as it fell.  It was comical to watch, because the same light that allowed them to see the flakes hurt their eyes causing them to squint exaggeratedly, while waving and bobbing their heads.  They looked like they were trying to do a Stevie Wonder impersonation, sans piano of course.

They saw me watching them and called through half frozen lips “Da oo gotaa ca oughide. Is nooo! (Dad you gotta come outside! It’s Snow!) Really, I was just as excited and for a few moments forgot the snowy 2 hour drive ahead of me, forgot about the unpacking of the car, the added cookie weight on my midriff, the pain in my back, forgot about life in general and spent time doing my own Stevie Wonder impersonation. (Catch that visual!) Snow has a distinct taste when you catch it directly, slightly bitter with just a hint of metallic overtones; you can almost taste the coal.  Life was good.

This is truly one of life’s simple pleasures.  The polar opposite of the first walk in the grass with bare feet come spring. When it comes to pleasure, simple is good. Problem is, simple is hard to attain.  Holidays do their best to wheedle us out of the simple plan into monumental “Plantzilla” like events that require matching ribbons, special plates and boisterous hellos. As parents and children all, we want our kids to have special memories, to enjoy their childhood, and I think we all fall into the “Plantzilla” trap, each event; each year has to be a step up from the previous.

Does it? 

Stop for a moment and think about your favorite childhood memories. Ok, were they complicated? Do you remember your 7^th birthday party because the plates matched the napkins and the cake, and your mom had M+M’s with your picture on them?  Or because you had a waterfight with ice water?  For me all my favorite memories are simple, hot dogs on a stick, snow fights, swimming in the creek.  You get my point.

2011 was a long year, and while we have things to look forward to in 2012, work, vacation, stuff to complicate.  I remain determined to Keep It Simple and remind myself it’s not so much how fancy the time is, but how much time you have.  Interestingly, the less time you spend making things complicated, the less stress you have and the more time you have to enjoy it.  Which is a bit of a worm turner to say the least. So while I currently rate myself at the far right of the keep it simple spectrum (see the list at the top of the page) my goal is to end the year someplace between Stupid and Silly.  

(Not sure if I intended the Right to be Sh_thead and the Left to be Sir, but now that I read it, and ponder the double political entendre, seems like a bit of a Freudian slip.)

Since you have to know I have no idea who Henry Finck is or was. I have to admit to digging up the quote online, which was kinda interesting journey in its own right. As gift dear readers, below are a few of the more interesting KISS quotes I found.  Thought you might find useful considering Valentine’s Day is around the corner.  Feel free to use them on a loved one….might help with another simple pleasure.

A kiss is a lovely trick designed by nature to stop speech when words become superfluous.  ~Ingrid Bergman

A kiss that speaks volumes is seldom a first edition.  ~Clare Whiting

 I am in favor of preserving the French habit of kissing ladies' hands - after all, one must start somewhere.  ~Sacha Guitry

I kissed my first girl and smoked my first cigarette on the same day.  I haven't had time for tobacco since.  ~Arturo Toscanini

http://www.quotegarden.com/kisses.html