What is Love?

A group of professional people posed this question to a group of 4 to 8 year-olds, 'What does love mean?' The answers they got were broader and deeper than anyone could have imagined See what you think:

Phyllis, age 7: 'When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That's love.'

Rebecca - age 8: 'When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You just know that your name is safe in their mouth.'

Billy - age 4: 'Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other.'

Terri - age 4: 'Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK.'

Danny - age 7: 'Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired of kissing, you still want to be together and you talk more. My Mommy and Daddy are like that. They look gross when they kiss.

Emily - age 8: 'Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen.'

Bobby - age 7: (Wow!) 'If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate,'

Nikka - age 6: (we need a few million more Nikka's on this planet) 'Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it everyday.'

Clare - age 6: 'Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken.'

Elaine-age 5: 'Love is when Mommy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Robert Redford.'

Chris - age 7: 'Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day.'

And the winner was Peter age 4: This was told by his mother. Their next door neighbor was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife. Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman's yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there. When his Mother asked her son what he had said to the neighbor, the little boy said, 'Nothing, I just helped him cry.’