The love a family has

--by Mike Adams

I TOTALLY look hot in flowers!

Or so I say when it serves my purposes. My wife and mother-in-law, probably won't confirm this statement, but I believe this has less to do with disagreement about my native heat and more to do with avoiding any encouragement of my tendency to do anything for a laugh.

So, along those lines, I ask you to take a moment and really appreciate the beauty of the swim cap to the left. Honestly, I love this cap and I want it! If someone gets me this cap, I'll happily wear it while I give them lap-swimming lessons at the public pool. Admittedly, this is not a normal form of recreation for a 260 pound man with a black belt in Tae Kwon Do, but then again I've never had run of the mill aspirations in life.

I suppose I tend to be a bit over the top. The truth is I will say almost anything...do almost anything for a good laugh and I do NOT embarrass easily. My greatest weakness is perhaps guilt. For example, my mother-in-law often accuses me of making fun of her and often I will relent at this point feeling guilty for my sport. The problem is that I haven't been making fun of her...not personally anyway, in reality, I just want to laugh and any topic will do...people shouldn't take these things so seriously!

Most recently, I've taken to squealing with delight and hollering “Nanna” when my wife’s mom arrives at the same location I happen to be. Invariably, my adorable little six year old joins me in running wildly towards her for an embrace. The perplexing thing is that despite my unbridled affection, she isn’t thrilled. Seriously people, how many women can you name whose son-in-law not only likes them but enthusiastically hugs them at almost every opportunity? I can't think of any besides my mother-in-law, the lucky lady!

I suppose it might strike her as a bit odd that I hug her with both arms and one leg, see picture to the right for an example, but hey we're all family right? Shouldn't she have acclimated to this level of passion by now? Why deny our love? My problem here is that most of my family simply doesn't see things the same as I do. My wife has said that if I hug her mom like that in public, she'll walk away, pretending not to know me and my mother-in-law has threatened to take Tae Kwon Do, so she can learn to keep me at bay.

To be honest, I'd love for her to take Tae Kwon Do. I think she'd enjoy it and frankly, I have persisted in and developed the tradition of greeting her with a one-leg hug, partially in hopes that she'll make good on her threat.

But beyond all of that, there is simply the principle of this matter. Is not today's world too devoid of love and affection? Don't we see too much partisan bickering at the capitol (any capitol...you choose!) Isn't our age marked by the detached youth yearning to escape their worried but misguided parents? Shouldn't we all make haste to change course and create a more loving and more tolerant world? I think so, which is why I leg-hug my son's Nanna.

People may think me crazy, but it is people like me who change the world, so I ask every American, Canadian and German. Every Saudi, every Korean, every person around the globe to take a moment today and show those around you how much you love them. Use your leg and your arms. Lets dub the next decade the hugging decade. Are you with me? Then go leg-hug someone!