The Baby Affect

In mid December of 2012, a brand new baby girl came to live with us. Little "Babycakes", was born less than 2 weeks before she came to stay. The whirlwind of seemingly non-stop feeding, constant diaper changes, and nausea caused by lack of sleep, is instantly, and repeatedly trumped by the pure cuteness of such a wonderful baby!

Life as we know it has changed, possibly for good. While we understand Babycakes is with us because of the foster care system, our hope is to adopt her at some point in the near future.

I'm a bit older now than when my youngest held the title 'beautiful baby', and I'd like to say I'm a bit more patient and observant than I used to be. The tiniest things are the most precious!

An interesting flash of reality hit me recently as I watched something I am calling 'baby affect' - an almost magical influence that is hinged only on line of sight, leaving distance and clarity out of this mystical equation.

I've witnessed this many times now when the baby is being carried in public view. The most of obvious manifestation is when little girls begin to glow, and smile, and hop in place, pointing at the baby and trying to get their mom's attention. Sometimes I am tempted to tell them that babies are found on aisle three, by the milk.

As time goes on I find young ladies, old ladies, and all ladies in between react similarly except for the jumping part. Although, I suspect they are hopping along inside vigorously. The most hardened faces instantly soften when the baby affect is in play.

Old, leather faced men who probably have not smiled in decades instantly soften, and wear a joyful glow, exactly the same as in the eyes of the hopping little girl mentioned earlier.

The elderly father and grandfather figures seem appropriate to be influenced by the baby affect. Yet, as I became more aware of this powerful influence, I noticed that the spectrum was not restricted to those who appear to have obvious connections to infants. Heavily tattooed guys with the ' fresh out of prison' look melt just as fast as the finest dressed businessman. Apparently, very few are immune to this amazing influence.

Majority of the time the people that are influenced by the baby affect don't stop to inquire if they can see the baby. They just walk on by, or hop if possible, as if they are captured in a private world; just them and the baby.

One lady grabbed my attention as she waved excitedly, pointing at the baby with her other hand. She clearly was caught in the baby affect. The oddity of this isn't the baby affect, but rather that she sat in her car nearly 150 feet away across a busy parking lot at night. Noting the power of the baby affect, I am less inclined to think people are nuts, although sometimes it's hard to think otherwise.

Most recently I've thought: If only I could harness this energy... I'd rule the world! (With happiness and joy, of course)

Until then, I'll be a patient observer of an awesome power held by the most innocent of all, which is probably where it should stay.