Love from Parents (Author)
From the day after my son was born, I discovered one key thing: The happy days we have now will always fly by but it’s such a busy time that we don’t get to feel much of it, until one day we look back and discover that there is no way for us to do it all again.
I have watched my child grow taller each day as his body gradually lost its roundness. He is less dependent on me today than he was yesterday, and tomorrow he will be even less dependent still. Where I once enjoyed the sweetness of taking care of him as a newborn baby, in the last few years I have started to worry that I am always one day closer to the time he will eventually let go of my hand.
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The most common mood I’ve felt since becoming a mother is a mixture of irritability and guilt. I feel tired of doting on my son and I wish he would give me a bit more time to myself, but sometimes I’m elated by how much he clings to me. Now and then, he’ll sense my impatience and conflicting feelings. He will try and please me by asking whether he’s been well-behaved and I will repeatedly reassure him that I love him so much, regardless of whether he’s been good or not. No matter how many times I say it he never seems to be completely convinced, just as I secretly doubt whether I am the center of his world in the same way I was during those pre-school days. In the end it doesn’t really matter, we still love each other very much.
This is how A Million Kisses came into being. When my son was born, he was so soft with that sweet newborn baby smell and I couldn’t bear to leave him even for a minute. Every time I picked him up I would kiss him. In the years that followed, I would just hold him close and kiss him when he threw afternoon tantrums or couldn’t sleep late at night, when he fell down or was angry at something. Even now, he’s in primary school and I still often hold my arms out wide for a hug and give him a kiss.
I hope I hold fast to the beautiful memories I have of this time. Every morning, when I see him come out of his bedroom bleary-eyed and just waking up, I immediately get ready to give him a hug and a kiss. I know that an entire day spent together is about to begin and that we’ll never have these days again.
A Happy Time for You and Me (Illustrator)
When illustrating this story, I struggled with the ending for a long time.
When exactly is the one millionth kiss?
Is it when your child gets married? Or when they have children of their own?
Or is it when they leave and say goodbye?
I believe that you should always treat “right now” as the final moment to love with all your strength.
Not a single moment should be missed!
This is my interpretation of A Million Kisses.
Thank you for this story that reminded me how I grew up surrounded by love.
And I hope that this book will make readers feel a little bit of that same warmth.
Read more:
- Chen Shu-Ting: https://booksfromtaiwan.tw/authors_info.php?id=357
- Deer Jan: https://booksfromtaiwan.tw/authors_info.php?id=358
- A Million Kisses: https://booksfromtaiwan.tw/books_info.php?id=371