I Love You Like a Puma

Last night I got in some much needed cuddle time with my son, Ben.  My back was killing me, and I decided to lay in bed with a heating pad to ease the discomfort.  Ben came in and kept me company.  At this point, Jocey had put herself to bed.  As we were laying there, I told Ben I loved him, and that I really enjoyed snuggling with him.
His response was, "Do you like snuggling with me more than Jocey?" 
Hmmm.  My first thought was to be honest, because I try very hard to be truthful with my kiddos, but I knew if I said yes, he would immediately run downstairs and rub it in Jo's face that he was a better cuddle bug than her.  The truth is, when Jocey cuddles, she comes in and lays next to me, and tells me she loves me.  Super sweet, yes, but.... in approx. 10 secs, she will begin flopping around like a fish.  I have no idea why this phenomenon occurs, but it definitely has to do with the fact that Jocey CANNOT sit or lay still until she is unconscious.  That my friends, is a fact. 
So of course I told Ben that I loved to snuggle with both him and Jocey equally, and our conversation turned to other topics.  Like how much he loved me.  I know, isn't he a sweetheart? 
"Mom, I love you like a puma,"  Ben said, trying to get me to laugh.  (Yes, there are times when he is obviously a zookeeper's child). 
"WHAT?" I said, playing into his little game.  "What does that mean?"
"It means I love you like a blueberry!" He giggled.
"WHAT?  What does that mean," I asked.
Ben replied, "It means I love you like a lamp!"  And sent himself into hysterics over his own silliness. 
So of course I again inquired what this meant, and on he went telling me he loved me like a bunch of other inanimate objects.  After a few minutes the both of us were laughing so much that I completely forgot about my back pain. 
After awhile both Ben and I felt our eyes getting heavy, and drifted off to sleep.  Later, when Paul came upstairs to go to bed, he decided to leave Ben where he was, and sleep in the spare room.  Paul doesn't normally do this, but I am glad he did. 
This morning, when my son gently shook me awake, I rolled over and told him that I love him like a puma.