a validating kiss

i would have to say Validation Day was a pretty wonderful party.  It is one of our more insular events, with mostly people who are well known to the community in attendance and thus it is smaller than many of our holidays, but since it is one of our more popular/fun events a fair few ex-members and friends of community make a point of coming.  This years also coincided with Willows 10th birthday celebration.  Which brought some other wonderful people like Susan Posey.

Besides organizing the 6 creatures game with Joanna, i did almost nothing to make this validation day party happen.  Which was nice for me.  The validation card reading was fun, the dance party was wonderful, but it was the kissing booth that rocked my world.

At first i was annoyed about it.  I went up to the kissing booth and looked at the sign up sheet and saw that someone had signed me up for the first shift, which was in a way funny, but since they did not ask me, it made me a bit grumpy.  The woman who had legitimately signed up after me was curious if i was done and i said yes and crossed myself off the list.

Rejoyce and young friend Iris

Her name is Rejoice, she has been sort of an Acorn satellite for the last few months, but my very minimal connection with her goes back a bit earlier, in that she is close with Davi and is part of what i consider the second generation new culture kids.  She is 20 something, bubbly and charming.

We ducked into the kissing both (which used the new years party Narnia closet as the doorway, which was an excellent addition).  And we kissed.  It was an amazing kiss.  I have been lucky enough to have a lot of kisses in my life and for a kiss between near strangers, it was intensely passionate.

i left the kissing booth a bit shaken.  Danced a little, thought a lot and finally came back to Rejoice and said

There are only two possibilities really.  That you could come to that kiss with such passion and intensity, when we dont really know each other means either that you are fantastically empathic and can reach inside the emotional make up of this new person and experience them there.  Or you are crazy.

Rejoyie smiled brightly and said “i am crazy.”

a 3rd rate picture of a 1st rate kisser

Afterward As Cardin points out, there is a problem with this post, which is that it trivializes the often misused accusation that women are crazy.  There is of course a third option in this story, which is that Rejoice is tremendously daring.  That she is willing to step in and step up to being present and connected in this way to someone who she barely knows.  Funologically, the kissing booth created the container or frame for this behavior – and what she brought to it was amazing.  Deep respect and appreciation.  And thanks to Cardin for pointing out my error.