love is.....

Mason got a love note from a friend yesterday.

It was covered in hearts and said "Mason, I love you"

He was trying to act cool and nonchalant about it as we passed it around and read it but when I made eye contact with him, he couldn't help his little face breaking into a proud grin . He said "I told her I will try and marry her when we get big"

As I was cleaning out my documents folder today I came across some reflections on "LOVE" I'd jotted down 2 years ago near Valentines day. I'd asked the kids some questions, those are underlined, and typed up their responses. (My unsolicited observations are in parentheses)

Love is......

to be nice and share when we have preschool. we can share toys and cars and the legos and the colorbooks and the books.

will you ever have a girlfriend?

nah... dat’s silly. what about when you get big? um maybe when I get big... her name will be Carly. She will look like the Carly we have right now who babysits me and be’s my mommy. She will say “Hi” I will say “I wuv her”

Someone who loves me, will be nice to me and tuck me into bed.

will you get married someday? yeah. where will you get married? in the temple. why? because I want to. what do you think they will say to you when you’re getting married? be quiet and listen...

Love is good because.... why? just because......

opinions of Mason, age 4

Love is.....

....you care about other people. You help people. and that’s what love means.

What do you do with a boyfriend/girlfriend?

.... you kiss him. you love him. you smooch him. you think he’s hot. And that’s what boyfriend means. I’ll have my first boyfriend in high school. His name will be Octovius I think. He’ll be hot... what does hot look like? It looks like a really cute boy. his hair will be combed and sometimes he’ll lick his hand to put his hair back. He’ll say to me “will you marry me?” and “can I take you on a date?” and “can I take you out with dinner?”

what will you say to him? “I want to kiss you” and “I don’t love you, I wanna break up and I won’t marry you” (she is a bit of a player I think....)

How does someone show you they love you?

... they do an act of kindness like make my bed, feed me, help me with some troubles.

opinions of Samantha Grace, age 6

Love is.....

....(silly face).... okay. actually ... part of life. you care for someone. you respect them. You do services for them... like? ummm... like offer them something... Like? .. like a ride home from their work or something or give them something they have wanted for a long time... like? like a type of book or movie or a board game.

what do you say to someone you love? “i love you” “do you really love me?”

what would she say to you? “yes” “I love you”

When do you think you’ll have a girlfriend? When I am 22. What will she be like? long hair, always happy, black hair, blue eyes, a good laugh.

what will you do on dates? just spend time together and talk, go out to a restaurant sometimes like chuck o rama or Mimi’s cafe.

How would you know someone cared for you? if they were kind, generous, always trying to find ways to help me, especially if I’m down in the dumps, help me with stuff i’m confused about.

Opinions on love by Jacob, age 8

Love is......

when you love someone really dearly and it’s usually someone in your family and you love them so much you want to be able to give service to them. Also, when you love someone you love them so much you would be willing to do anything for that person.

like? like your parents, if you love them the least you can do is obey them and do what they say.

when do you feel most loved by someone? when I’m sick my parents are willing to sit by me and actually like hold the bowl when I throw up which I think is pretty disgusting because I can’t stand seeing Carly or Jacob throw up or even myself, the look of it, the sound of it, the smell of it, all of it is just sickening. At school I can tell when a guy likes me because they try to impress me and follow me around and try to sit by me when we sit in circle time and try to talk to me. what do they do to impress you? for example, the other day, when student council was making a big poster we were cutting out hearts for a project and had lots of scrap paper in a recycling bin and it was heavy and he put it on his head and balanced it for a good amount of time right in front of me and said “hey Rachel look at this” and I just kind of say to myself .... “yeah... whatever” and one boy acts normal around other people but acts like a perfect gentleman around me. For three years he always wants to sit by me and be my partner and talk to me, I’m kind of getting tired of it. gimme a break. (she’s gonna regret that someday, this kid is A-DOOR-A-BLE!!! and he IS so sweet around her)

A perfect boyfriend would be.....

hot and adorable. describe hot and adorable... blond, curly hair....a member of the church, not that touchy( not getting mad easy). He would listen to me and understand and care a lot about me. He would play the guitar, be a good singer. we would be in the same band. He would pay for all the dates that we had. and I would pay maybe a little bit. We would both go to BYU. We would go to every BYU football game.

If he acted like he was tired of me I would know he didnt’ really care.

When I love someone I usually keep it a secret if it’s out of my family.....

If it’s in my family I show them how much I love them by giving them notes, doing whatever they ask me to do.

opinions on love... Rachel Patricia, age 11

Love is....

seeing the inner beauty in someone like loving them for their personality, their inner self, not their popularity and looks and being able to tell them that. Love is caring for someone...

when do you feel most loved by someone? When i can talk to them and tell them how I feel and they understand me and help me and maybe just hugs out of the blue. When they tell me what a wonderful person I am. When they encourage me to do stuff or whatever.

The perfect guy is....

physically....hmmm.. taller than me, dark brown/black hair, blue eyes, not buff but they got muscles. (what was that she said about the inner self?????) strong enough where I feel like he can protect me. ADorable, hot, cute.....etc, etc... don’t need drop-dead gorgeous, don’t really want drop dead gorgeous. why? #1 haven’t ever met one #2 want to focus more on other stuff. I think a drop dead gorgeous guy might be focused on the fact that he’s drop dead gorgeous. I want someone Pleasing to look at basically.. make sense?

nonphysically: He honors his parents, respects them basically. He loves the gospel, he wants to live it, he wants to do the best he can. He’s been on a mission. Righteous. He loves me for me. He wants to have a large family. Kind of patient.... not totally patient cuz I think I’d go insane cuz i’m not that patient. He wants to get married in the temple. He would do things like special stuff on holidays for me.

How do you show love right now w/ family, friends? I tell them I love them. give them advice when they need it. I try to listen to them when they have problems and need to get it out. Hugs, kisses. RE: parents, try to listen to them. When they give me stuff I tell them I’m grateful.

opinions on love..... Carly Dawn, age 13