They saw your face, and it was crumpled under the weight of the world. All the puzzles and mysteries of mankind were weighing on your small, slight shoulders. Your mouth was opened in a wordless cry of wonder and sorrow. Some wanted to take that from you, but found they could not. Instead they sat and watched, and wondered, crossing wondering fingers and hoping that in your travels, you found refuge and light. Hoping that you found love and peace. You need one to attain the other, so they wished that you would have both, and find that the world is not so bad in your small corner of it.

You are an old soul with ancient eyes, eyes so wise that others turn away in confusion, wondering who you are, and what made you so wise and so finished. Wednesday’s child is full of woe, they say, but I say it is knowledge and being privy to things that others can only dream about. You sailed into life on stormy seas but found a safe berth. You did not plan your arrival, but were swept into life so suddenly that it left you gasping. What is this strange new place where lights almost burn you with their intensity? Why are the sounds so sharp and clear, when you are used to the muted symphonies that you once knew? Where is the soft ebb and gently rocking tide that lulled you into sleep and wakefulness, and will it ever return?

This is what life is: a sometimes strange, frightening, joyous, adventure. Fortunately it is not all those things at the same time, because that would be very difficult to manage. I have no memories of being a baby, so I don’t know what it was like to bound into life, but I know what it looks like to babies. They all seem stunned by their strange new world, and are at a loss to explain it to themselves in any way that makes sense. Initially they must wonder how on earth they landed where they did, and like tiny explorers of a brave new world, they find their footing and set out to explore it. They begin to recognize the people who mean the most to them, and they flirt, they smile, with all the charm they can muster at their disposal. As an adult I envy them that easy charm and effortless charisma that they all possess.

Life is indeed an adventure and every baby’s first smile is the distillation of pure love and amazement, at finding themselves in such an interesting place. Life ceases to be frightening and becomes one long endless exploration of possibilities and certainties. The first steps, the first words, are all viewed and heard with wonder; the first time a tiny hand clasps a finger, there is a rush of love so overpowering that we adults are left to wonder at the power of someone so small, so perfect, and yet so human, all at once.

We want better things for our babies and grandchildren than we experienced ourselves. Even those of us with happy childhoods want the best for those we love, and nothing ever seems good enough for the intrepid, constantly amazed new citizens of our lives. The look of wonder on a baby or a child’s face can bring a smile to the most jaded adult face, and the sounds of soft sweet voices can stop us in our tracks. There are many gifts that we will give and receive in our lives, but nothing matches the joy and wonder we feel when we welcome a new member into the family. Every baby is important to their family, and all of them are part of the human condition, and just as important to the world. Some of them may become great on the world stage, some of them may become great on the stages of their own lives, most of them will live a life that is ordinary, and beautiful in it’s very ordinariness and simplicity.

Today we celebrate babies and their parents, and the courage of both. It isn’t easy being a baby or a parent, but both have their own rewards, so rich and indescribable, that you have to be one to appreciate it! If most babies could speak, immediately, they would probably want a long list of answers to a long list of questions, many of which would astonish us. On most of my baby pictures, I look solemn and owlish, and yet that was only the public face I wore. The one I kept for myself must surely have been different. Just as it is different every year of my life. Only now, the public face begins to match the private face and the life I live. I am a baby again, open to new explorations and people, open to joys and wonders I couldn’t imagine, open to navigating stormy seas, because I am loved. According to the old nursery rhyme, I was born on a Thursday, and thus, had far to go. It was an accurate predictor, because I have moved some 20 plus times in my married life. Only now has the wanderlust left us, and deposited us in a small place with the treasures of our lives. We never had money, and we never will, but the riches we find in our children and grandchildren are indescribable. Maybe a simple smile and an I love you can’t bring the world to it’s knees, but it can enrich and color our lives beyond measure.