I ask you...

Is there anything better than the squeal of glee, the sound of hurried footsteps, the peals of laughter emitted in a moment of unbridled joy as your toddler leaps into your arms, shouting , "MOMMYYYYYY!!!!" And proceeds to hug you, legs and arms wrapped so tightly around your body you could let go (but you wouldn't) and she'd still be holding on like a baby chimpanzee?

No. There is not.

But on par with that is when your nine-year old cracks what seems like an offhand joke and you laugh, earnestly even, and his whole demeanor lights up as he is now two feet taller, because your laugh was the goal in the first place.

Equally on par is when your prepubescent, tweleve-year old lets you kiss him goodnight, and he actually kisses you back, AND hugs you. A real hug, too-- an abrazo, as my dad would say.

Ain't life grand?