Babies

On Tuesday night I had the pleasure and honor of having dinner with an old acquaintance.  She brought her 4 month old baby along and we met at an Olive Garden.  Our personalities totally clicked and we talked non-stop for three solid hours.  Like many 4 month old babies, this one got fussy.  She wanted to nurse.  She wanted to be held.  She wanted to be changed.  She was tired, fussy, and cranky.  She wanted her pacifier.  She didn't want her pacifier.  Gosh, I love babies.  Even cranky babies are a pleasure for me to hold and try to soothe.   And I got to hold her and straighten her little sun dress and pat her tiny back to make her burp.  I got to feel her tiny weight in my arms.  The baby looked into my eyes and stared at me as if she understood everything I was saying.  What will make her laugh when she is ten years old?  What will she be doing at age 35?  What does her future hold?  Her Mom was an excellent mother.  She soothed the baby with confidence and kindness. And as I watched te mother hold her baby on her knee as she jiggled her leg up and down, I remembered holding the mother on my knee when she was the age her daughter is now.  I remember she threw up on my pants after eating half a jar of beets.  Babies are messy, smelly, loud and they can ruin your clothes but the pleasure I get when I hold a baby can make my toes curl.