Picture this. I'm standing in a bathroom of a crowded hall. People are slow dancing and I'm about 15 years old, a hopelessly optimistic and naive young woman swaying to the sweet sounds of a romantic song in the arms of my first love. The bathroom setting may not sound like the perfect venue but at the time the moons light was filtering through a window giving the room a blue glow. This was the moment I had been waiting for, the first kiss. Our bodies were close, I could feel his heart beating a little faster than mine, all the glances, hidden smiles and secret touches culminated in this glorious moment.
He leaned a little away from my face, while holding my waist close to his and looked at me with a debonair smile that made my toes curl. It was a moment Hollywood had been replicating for decades. The slow movement of our faces preparing to connect, lips parting, the senses more aware than they had ever been and then the lock. His tongue moved gently in my mouth and I fumbled for a second, give me a break, it was my first time and it was magical. I loved every minute and I will remember it for the rest of my life. Every time I hear the song that happened to be playing in the background, it takes me back to that moment. I still remember the smell and taste of him.
Ever since that experience, I've always viewed kissing as a passionate and intimate act. Sex is great but there's really nothing that compares to a first kiss, whether it be with your first love or someone you are madly obsessed with. So you can imagine my shock when I read about a new study, the short version is that kissing came about for a need to spread germs and build up our immune systems. Sort of takes the romance out of a beloved pastime.
So here's my theory, kissing is a way of expressing our love for one another, kissing is a memory we will cherish forever, kissing is what makes our heart flutter and the butterflies work over time in our stomachs so as much as I respect scientific research, this older and wiser woman still believes in the power of a first kiss and it has absoultely nothing to do with germs.
