Strangers

So dinobaby, like all babies, is nearly universally loved. Complete strangers come up to me and ask me how old he is, how he's sleeping, what foods he's eating. As I sat in the waiting room today, I looked around as everyone else remained compartmentalized, disconnected. No one tried to strike up a conversation with anyone else, just the two women with babies, me and another lady. But through us, they were able to connect with each other.

Loving people comes naturally to babies

Babies are the ultimate social barrier defeater. Really. A middle-aged man in stained clothing waved at me in the grocery store with my baby in my cart, and I was a little wary but I waved back. Something I would never, ever do if I was alone. And in the strange world of 7 month olds, dinobaby smiles at who he wants to: woman in nice Anne Taylor Loft duds: scary---large man in a tank top: hi, want to play peekaboo. Leopleuradon teaches me to reassess my standard approach to people. I'm not saying that dinobaby was right to fear the woman, but perhaps he wasn't wrong to smile at the man who seemed threatening to me.

Being with Leopleuradon is like living in December everyday. I think more charitably of my fellow man, and my fellow man looks more charitably on me. A homeless man opened the door for us when I left the library. Someone I had previously marked mentally as a threat and  had decided to exit by the other side, stood up and  held  the door open for dinobaby and me. The world is a better place because of babies.

Let there be peace on Earth.

P.S. Every stranger says about the same thing to Leo, "He's a healthy-looking baby, doesn't miss any meals does he."  He's 73rd percentile for weight, so I guess they've got a point. Still sounds like a euphemism for fat to me, but in my developing sense of grace for all mankind, I realize they only mean well. *wink*