Like many families, we cherish reading books together. With both a calm girl and a rambunctious boy, we read many different styles of books. We read funny stories, stories with our favorite characters, Bible stories, and stories with lessons. There is one book though, that stands out on the impact it has had on my children.
Each morning in the school drop-off line as I am giving my school-aged child instructions to prepare for her exit from the car, there is one thing she absolutely will not forget. After putting on her backpack she moves closer to me, opening her hand, palm up in my face waiting. Sometimes she speaks, “don’t forget to kiss my hand,” but I couldn’t forget as this is the most important part of our drop-off routine. I give her palm a quick kiss and she immediately closes her hand up tight, so as not to let the kiss escape she says before she returns to preparing to get out of the car. Then later after I pick her up, if she has had a hard day she will tell me how she held her hand on her face so she could feel my kiss of comfort to get her by while I wasn’t there. This whole bit came from one simple story we checked out from the library called-The Kissing Hand.
The Kissing Hand is a children’s story where the mother raccoon and her baby are the main characters. Like most children, the baby is having apprehensions about starting school and being away from his mother. That is when his mother takes his hand and kisses it, telling him to hold it tight. She goes on to tell him that the kiss will not wash off, but will be there for him to put on his face throughout his time away as he wishes.
So let me encourage you to check out this book at the library or add it to your online shopping cart. Then, once the book is in hand, snuggle close to your little one(s) and read this precious story together. I hope it adds a comforting ritual to your family just as it has mine.
