Wednesday, August 13, 2008

The Circle of Life, Reader's Digest Condensed Edition

When Thumper was two months old, we decided we'd take a stroll around the mall to give his Mama some peace and maybe some sleep. That's when we discovered the Simon Kidgits Clubhouse, the mall playground that we frequent now that the boy is mobile. We sat, I fed him a bottle, and we watched the kids play. Several toddlers ran up to him, fascinated. "Baby!" they exclaimed, and they wanted to touch his hair, his face, his hands, but their mothers said, "No, don't touch! Nice baby," and asked me how old, and told me how cute.

Now, Thumper is a year old, and he's one of the toddlers running around the playground. Grandma gave him a couple of baby dolls for his birthday, so we've talked a lot about babies. When a tiny infant appears, he can think of nothing else. He runs up to them and points and looks at me and says, "Beeeeeebee!" And he tries to keep his hands to himself, he does. But then he reaches out, wanting so badly to touch their hair, their faces, their hands. And I say, "No, don't touch! Nice baby," and ask how old, and say how cute.

5 comments:

Kirsten said...

Circle of life? Yep, seen it 3 times over now. It's actually scary to me because it means that MY baby is growing up - and then I look at the other side of it all and see my 87yo grandmother and think that one day that person is going to be my parents and then me. Then I try and do something mindless because it's just too damn daunting of a concept for me to wrap my brain around.

I, Rodius said...

I remember being in first grade and thinking that sixth grade was such a long, long time away. Now a year goes by like it's a couple of months. It's such a cliché how time goes faster and faster as you get older, but it's still such a surprise.

suttonhoo said...

(love this)

re time flying: someone explained it to me once as a ratio thing. when you're in first grade summer vacation is a much larger fraction of your whooooole life than it is by the time you hit your senior year in high school. that's why it feels so much shorter as we get older.

& that's maybe why "baby" is so far from where toddler Thumper is now.

anniemcq said...

This one puts a lump in my throat. Kiss your baby's sweet noggin for me, okay?

I, Rodius said...

I will. Dr. today said it's viral and maybe si, maybe no on the milk issue, but I'll try to find a spot on his sweet noggin that ain't been spattered in toxic goo recently.

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