BABIES ARE MORE THAN YOUNG HUMANS

Blog number 236 28 October 2008

We went to Phoenix today for our weekly visit. A good baby day, it turns out.

As we were led to our booth in Mimi's, I saw in the first booth, a cute little girl, about two years old, brunet page boy, laying her head on her mother's shoulder, sleepy eyes, slowly rubbing her mother's pregnant belly.

A few minutes later, getting up to go out to the car to get my pen and paper which I had forgotten to bring in, I passed the child's booth where she was now sitting up, eating. I put my hand on her head and she gave me a beautiful smile. She smiled again at me as I came back through there on my way back from the car and as I sat down, she said, "Hi." I said "hi" back.

Sweet!

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When we lived in California we occasionally went to a Catholic mass that always had SRO. Along the whole back of the circular room, adults would be standing, holding babies which very often squawked and talked. Again, sweet!

At the end of the services the priest always called the young up to stand around him and be blessed. After services The priest would stand out in the yard and greet the parishioners as they left, and the children he would engulf in a big hug. It's the only time I ever felt envious of not being in the priesthood. I wanted to do that!

One service I was sitting on the aisle and Teresa was to my right. To her right was a couple that had an active one year old. The baby tried to climb over Teresa's leg to get out and Teresa moved her leg so the baby couldn't. The baby, noticing this, looked up at Teresa with big puzzled eyes and kept trying, like a duckling trying to climb over a high step.

Teresa asked the dad if he wanted me to hold her. The Dad agreed, so all through the rest of the service I got to cuddle that sweet, sweet child. That was a good service!

Another time I was watching this two year old boy ahead of me and across the aisle. He was giving his dad fits, squirming and trying to get loose. I noticed him give his Dad a "look" and he quieted down. I knew what was coming, so as he made a sudden dart up the aisle for the back of the room, as he went by me, I scooped him up and gave him to his dad who had just begun the chase.

The Dad sat him down, and every once in a while the boy would look back at me. Trying to figure out my place in his scheme of things, I guess. I would just grin at him.

I think of those two experiences a lot. Highlights in my life.