Hugs, kisses, & cuddles make the world the world go ‘round, you know!
Years ago, when my children were a lot younger, I established a new bedtime routine. I don’t know where it came from, but one day, I leaned over tucked them in, and said “hug”, and I gave them a quick squeeze; “kiss”, I place a kiss on the top of their head, “Cuddle” just like the hug but a little longer. That routine has now lasted. Even as they have gotten older, they still expect some form of it. When our youngest came into our home and long before the adoption was final, that was part of her routine. And if I ever have to be away during our bedtime routine, she expresses how much she missed that part of our nightly ritual.
Rituals and routines help to ground us, center us. During a hectic, busy day isn’t it nice to have something that is familiar and expected, especially around love. I feel that starting positive love routines or rituals when a child comes into your care can help let them know that they are heard, seen, and cared for. It may be a storytime or reading a devotional book or a simple phrase that conveys this type of love to a child. Even in our hectic, busy lives, we can always find time in the smallest of ways to help the children you have been entrusted, whether biological children or those in our care for a season, to end a day with love.
One time, long ago, as the kiddos were going off to bed, my daughter, then six, now 18, calls out, “Daddy, don’t forget hug, kiss, cuddle, it makes the world go ‘round you know!”. And it really does.
This personal account was written and shared by adoptive parent Andy Meyers, Agape Adoption Agency’s Intake & Outreach Specialist.
