weekend reading :

on  t e n d e r n e s s 

• I watched the documentary Being Elmo, and I was so teary eyed as puppeteer, Kevin Clash, explained that Elmo represents love. Anyone who has watched the show knows that Elmo is a snuggler, and it's this tenderness that makes his connection with children so powerful.

"The thing that people love about Elmo is that he needs them. And that's why little kids love him. Because he needs them too." Whoopie Goldberg 

• On the Importance of Touch (... and how I'm terrible at hugging)
• a poem on The Writer's Almanac about how we learn to say the words "I love you" : Full Circle by Alden Nowlan 

"Whispered it, painfully, and was laughed at;
hid until the wounds healed and said it again,
muttered it.
wanting to be loved, "I love you," was what I said." 

• isn't this Washed Out album cover so intimate? it makes me blush. 
• I'd like to be kissed while listening to City and Colour's song As Much As I Ever Could . (I usually don't give too much weight to the comments on YouTube videos - like, is everyone who uses that website a complete lunatic? - but someone described it as "a gentle wind caressing a field of wheat". Yes, I agree. exactly.)
• Joanna Goddard on motherhood's two kinds of touch. 

I hope your weekend is full of affection!