Kids

Today an old friend sent me the most adorable photo of her daughter. The infant is 3 months old and her personality is starting to show through. What is it about seeing the smiling face of a little bundle that makes you want to smile?

Is it the innocence of that first few years of life that we miss? Maybe the ability of children to feel and express emotions that we as adults are used to suppressing are what make me want to smile. I know when I saw this child or when my brother sends me photos of my infant niece, I wonder what it must be like to be that kid again.

Infants learn and experience more new things in a day that most adults do in a year. Can you imagine being back there, checking out the world around you and all there is to see? Without the knowledge that causes fear, dread or disinterest?

It would be nice if we could maintain the sense of wonder that children have. My friend has wanted to be a mom for years. She expected to be married and have kids long before she approached 30. When the right guy didn’t come along until late in her 20s she didn’t despair. She decided instead to wait for the right guy, the one she wanted to spend her life with a have a family with. Now she is 32, married and a mom. She got what she wanted and is happy with it because she didn’t put a timeline on what she wanted.

Seeing the baby in the photo I was pleased for her, pleased that she sounded so happy in her email. Even more I looked at the smile on that child’s face and knew that the mother was just as happy as the child.

Will starting a family make you happy? Or is there something else you want to do first?

Turning 30 doesn’t mean you have to rush into getting pregnant if you aren’t ready or interested. No one would be as happy as my friend if they had a baby they weren’t ready for. Luckily my friend was both ready and waiting to be a mom. Her age had nothing to do with her happiness.