Memories We Love To Recall, and Relive If We Could...
When did you first encounter sweet breath? Were you nuzzling a newborn? Did a child approach you, sticky with cotton candy and breathing of spun sugar? Was it a first kiss?
Kissing someone you barely know or want to know only as a Mom, Grandma or Aunt a involves lips briefly brushing a cheek. A kiss like that is purposely meant to not offend or not to commit. No breath bearing telltale signs of a spicy meal could ever escape, so you inhale slightly, holding your breath, trying to keep antiseptic as possible.
The First Sweet Kiss is heaven. You've been seeing each other for a while; laughing, learning, but not yet loving. Oh, there's teasing going on, but one set of parents or the other or tattletale bothers and sisters always seem to be lurking. Then one evening, while the others are in another room, you find a quiet place to sit and talk and share your lives; a spot on the floor, against the wall just around the corner nestled in shadows. The conversation is hushed; whispered in tones full of promise. Your closeness excites in a way you can't explain. A tension builds as you are drawn closer together to fully absorb the other's whispered thoughts. You inhale slightly, not to prevent breath from offending, though for a second you think of that. Your breath simply catches in your chest. You are at once immobile and wildly chaotic. Hearts thunder. Ears pound. Eyes strain for every detail. Unexpectedly she leans into you and breathing out just slightly, you meet. In that small second. In that moment of anticipation you find it. Sweet Breath. The Promise of Life. The Greatest Gift of the Creator. And you accept.
