She totally made my day. I would not even have expected her to at all remember me.
We were sitting in Sunday School today in a room where the rows of seats were curved a bit, giving the ends a clear view of each other. We were to one side; her parents came in and sat down at the other end, a young mom and dad with a fussy fifteen-month-old in their arms, a good-natured kid, but, naptime is naptime.
They got her quieted down but not especially happy; a cracker and a little milk from her sippy cup helped somewhat. The mom looked tired.
And then–that little girl saw me. She got the biggest grin on her face, spread her whole hand as wide open as she could, leaned her whole body towards me from far across the room while making the grandest wave hi a wannabe grandma could ever hope to see, in a burst of new energy. Me! It’s me, lady! Remember that fingerpuppet you gave me a month or two ago? Remember smiling at me? You’re my FRIEND!
There was no resisting waving back in kind. I think if her mom hadn’t had a firm grip on her she might have gone flying across the room to leap into my arms.
The back row was soon looking both ways, quietly chuckling, catching the wave too; baby smiles are so marvelously contagious.
Hey, almost out in there… I replenished my supply in my purse when we got home. And now you see why I give out those Peruvian fingerpuppets to fussy little ones: it’s for me. I tell you, it is totally, selfishly, for me.
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Selfless, still, I say… Long term investment, maybe? lol
I’m smiling imagining the light coming over her face. Magical moments that beam warm and wide. 🙂
Comment by Suzanne in Mtl 01.11.10 @ 6:42 amAbsolutely about baby/toddler smiles!
Friends had their baby-naming on Friday night. The wee one is just under three months old, still at the not-sure stage about feeding and sleeping and so on. And it was snacktime when they were finally called to the bimah, but she managed to be sufficiently adorable for the duration with fussing at a minimum, good thing given the accoustics of the place. And quite adorable through the oneg after.
Then she and daddy turned up at bible class on Saturday. Judith fussed from her carrier (to at least one comment about whether she was apparently not agreeing with the tenor of the discourse), until Dad picked her up and she could look around. Right next to him was the row of grandmother-and-up ladies who always sit on that side of the square.
Judith looked at the first one. She smiled and waved. Judith smiled and cooed. The other bubbes looked and waved over the first one’s shoulder. And I half expected them to start playing pass-the-baby through the rest of class.
Distracting, but adorable.
Comment by Margo Lynn 01.11.10 @ 7:10 amSharing joy is hardly selfish. I’m pretty sure everyone else in that room would agree with me.
Comment by Channon 01.11.10 @ 8:04 amMe,too. My new order is on the way! The last ones I got were not the cute little knitted ones, but rather some soft plastic ones. Babies still liked them.
Comment by sherry in idaho 01.11.10 @ 8:19 amadorable zebra (or “zeba” as my son in law calls them) and the turtle is wonderful too!
and where is it these come from?
Comment by Bev 01.11.10 @ 8:29 amThose are the cutest ever! I can’t imagine knittin’ such tiny stitches.
Oh, congrats on bein’ recognized by the young crowd as a happenin’ adult. 🙂
Comment by Toni Smoky-Mountains 01.11.10 @ 9:09 amI think baby smiles can melt most any heart, and with you, I suspect all you need is a look. Of course it’s selfishness – uh, yeah!
Fun –
There was a plump knight Sir Keith
who removed his sword from its sheath,
He fought for his honor
But soon was a goner
And the dragon stood picking his teeth.
Awww that would have made my day as well love those precious little ones and your generous heart is a wonderful thing:) Hugs Darcy
Comment by Darcy 01.11.10 @ 12:22 pmMy Godson Sean is 15 months old as of Friday this week. When he was told he was coming to see us yesterday, I’m told he started dancing on the bed.
Sadly, he got a fever and we had to postpone until next week, but it is GOOD to be loved by a little one :-}
If I’d been that child’s mother, I probably would have walked across the room and handed her to you. I am all about “adopted” grandmas for my children, especially at church! It means I get to occasionally listen to more than 2 sentences of the lesson!
Hope you’re having happy times now that John is home – tell him hello from the Caudles!
Comment by treen 01.12.10 @ 2:27 pmBev, the answer to your question about puppet sources is in the November 2, 2009 entry.
Julia
Comment by julia 01.12.10 @ 8:14 pmI love this story and I totally understand. I once watched a program about babies. They claim that from 3 mos. a baby is capable of remembering a friendly face.
So glad she remembered you. What a sweet child!
Comment by Joansie 01.14.10 @ 1:24 pmLeave a comment
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