For a lot of people being with a baby is sheer delight. When you see the anticipation in a baby’s eyes as someone comes and lifts them out of a crib, the trust a baby senses when s/he is handled with love, care and patience, the easy fun between baby and caretaker when baby makes eye contact and attempts with all its focus and energy to stand, watching a newborn’s speedy growth week after week, the happiness a baby expresses when it’s time for milk, it would seem that if everyone got the simple things needed during those completely helpless years the world would be in much better shape.
I was with Sophie in the Catskills this past weekend. What fun it is to be with a four month old; everything about her is pure, and just like her cousin Sebastian, she’s well-loved in all the ways she needs to be. When I look at Sophie I think she knows much more than she can let on at the moment. If a baby were able to talk, communication might go like this: I can’t do anything for myself, but it won’t be like this forever. So, if you promise to love me, keep me secure, take care of my basic needs, have patience with me, I’ll grow into a person who trusts life and will add to life in untold ways.
Awesome power is in the hands of an adult who’s responsible for a baby, and in the hands of a mature adult, imagine what can happen.
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