Sunday, November 18, 2007

nothing sweeter

This afternoon, we were invited to the 91st birthday party of #3's Godmother. She was widowed nearly 5 years ago and now lives in a personal care home.
While we were there, the baby was due to eat. Luckily I had remembered to pack a jar of food and a bottle. I sat down and began feeding her. Shortly afterward, a bright-eyed, cheery woman, came over and smiled at #5. She knelt to the baby's level and spoke in soft tones trying elicit a beautiful, gummy baby grin. She wanted to know how old she was, what her name was, how many children I had, etc. She cooed and played with her and then told me that her own mother raised 7 children (5 boys, 2 girls). We marveled at how busy her mom must have been. Cooing again, she said, "There's just nothing sweeter than a baby." I agreed.
I then got distracted with the antics of #4 and came to sit back down after a bit. The lady came back up to us and began ogling over the baby again. We spoke for awhile longer. "There's nothing sweeter than a baby," she crooned. I agreed.
She then went over and helped show #4 the fish tank which kept his attention for a good, long time. (whew!) Walking back over and catching the eye of the baby she asked how old "he" was and was surprised to learn that I was holding a baby girl (I had dressed her in navy after all). My elderly friend was also surprised to hear that she was 8 months old and that she was the youngest of 5. By this time, my suspicions from the second encounter were confirmed. This gentle soul, who adores babies, has absolutely no short term memory. "There's nothing sweeter than a baby," she said with a smile. I agreed then thought to myself, "There is also nothing sweeter than a dear, old lady with bright, sparkly blue eyes who doesn't remember meeting my little girl for the first time, so many times, in less than 30 minutes."

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

well, it's good that her opinion is consistent, even if her memory is not. you should take "him" over to the home more often & let the old lady coo at her. i have always thought there is nothing sweeter than old people playing with babies.

Maria (also Bia) said...

It's so nice that you had all your children with you . . . taking them to an assisted living home is part of teaching them the value of human life in all its stages. God bless, and Happy Thanksgiving!

Michelle Kemper Brownlow said...

AWwwwww
bless her!
And good for you for not being annoyed by her!
WOW!

Kathy Gillen said...

Didn't it make you feel good to know that your helped her have such happy thoughts during the time you were there. I often wonder about those with no memory, and even my sweet little Merritt. Do they remember bad stuff? Or do the pleasant things come back more often. I sure hope it is mostly pleasant.