First Kiss

You always remember your first kiss, especially if it’s a special one.  I recently had one of those moments.

A little over 36 years ago I was born. And while I think it was a special day, not too many people outside of my parents seems to remember or boast about it.  Not too many people reminisce about my born day – except for Mr. Siegfreidt.  He loves to tell people that he came to the hospital on the day I was born.  Even 36 years later he is proud of that memory.

Mr. Siegfreidt and I attend the same church, St. Matthews Episcopal.  And ever since I can remember, he’s always given me a kiss each and every Sunday.  He always sits in the same front pew, greets me with a warm smile and a kiss on the cheek.  Although his movements have become slower over time and his hair much more gray, I can tell how much it means to him to see me smile his way in passing.

He’s been married 62 years but the past couple of years his wife’s health has declined. You could tell it was a struggle for the two of them to come to church together and then a couple of months ago they just randomly stopped attending.  It was just a couple of weeks before I went on bed rest.  It was odd to look in his pew and not see him there. He said his wife was no longer at a point where she could come to church and they were both now going to the service at the nursing home where they now lived.

I was so excited to go to church with Maximus so that my church family could meet him and they were overjoyed.  But, there was one person I know was disappointed not to be a part of that moment – Mr. Siegfreidt.  Well, last weekend Milton, Maximus and I finally made to the nursing home so Mr. Siegfreidt could meet Maximus.  Once again his face lit up at the sight of seeing us.  He was so proud to see that I was a mother and even more excited to hold Maximus.

But the moment I will remember most (actually I’ll probably never forget) was right before we left, he held Maximus tight and gave him a kiss.  The kiss I looked forward to every Sunday for 36 years, was now being passed down to my son – priceless!!