parenting love

Abu Salmah related that Abu Hurayrah said,"The Prophet of Allah kissed Hasan ibn 'Ali while Aqra' ibn Habis was sitting nearby. Aqra' said, 'I have ten children and have never kissed one of them.' The Prophet looked at him and said, 'Those who show no mercy will be shown no mercy.'"
Hadith - Bukhari (#91) and Muslim

I never thought I'd be chastised for giving Schenectady the best of myself, but here I am, with him in his Bjorn, hiding out from relatives and friends of relatives with an odd desire to hear Schenectady shriek for mercy. For mercy is what he needs when I've put him down and he can't cope, when he's tired and can't settle down alone, when he is out of sorts for some reason that we can't pinpoint.