the consequences of kissing

I just found out that I have Hand, Fooot, and Mouth Disease (Not to be confused with Foot and Mouth found in animals). The source of the virus? Probably the cute little guy, Jacob, in the picture. Jacob is almost three, the 5th child in his family, loves trains and playing in the water, and always gets excited when I come around. His family has become my family which equates to my spending quite a bit of time with them. When I appear at their house, one of the children will stand at the door and announce "MISS SALMOND'S HERE!" only to be followed by the sound of small feet on the hard wood floor and a little voice yelling, "Miiissssssss SSSSSSSSSSSSAAAAAAAAAAAALLLMMMMMOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNNDDDDDDD!"

Often that is followed by Jacob flinging himself around my legs. If he forgets to hug me or if I make too far into the house before he hugs me, Jacob will say so, "Miss Salmond, I forgot to give you a hug and a kiss." Sometimes, he will go a step farther and threaten to kiss me in the same tone that one would say "I'm gonna get you." Kissing is his new game. And I'm sure it's this game that infected me.

It's fun to be loved in such a way; to have "family" even though I'm so far from my own blood-relatives. It's even great enough to endure a mouth full of canker sores (I'm up to 11 this morning) and sores on your hands (I've only got 5 of those) and three days of pure exhaustion due to a virus smacking your body like a truck hits a squirrel.