Someone's baby.

When you look at photos of your parents taken back when you were a little kid (or better yet, before you were even born), you probably think things like "what were you thinking with that haircut?" or "were those pants really considered stylish back then?" or even "I can't believe you guys were ever that young!" I never imagined that someday my kids would be snickering at photos of me, but I'm becoming increasingly aware that they will. Le sigh.


Sonja is three and is already asking the "where did I come from?" questions. She seems satisfied, if not a little mystified, by my reply of "Mommy and Daddy made  you and you grew inside Mommy's belly." Yikes. Let's hope that one holds for awhile. I don't have any plans of dumbing things down and I already know which book I want to buy for her, but I don't feel ready to buy it just yet... I've been very successful in deflecting her queries by pointing out that Daddy was made by Badu and Papa (her Grandma and Grandpa) and grew inside Badu's belly. The look she gives me is priceless, like she thinks I'm completely off my rocker. I have to work hard to keep a very serious and encouraging expression on my face, but really I just wish I had a camera so I could record her look of doubt. 


But I remember feeling the same way: I just couldn't imagine my Mom being someone's baby. I couldn't picture her having parents and I couldn't fathom her having a life before my existence. It's the wonderfully naive certainty of a child's place in the world: being the centre of their parents' universe. And as maddening as it can be at times, I really don't want my kids to see it any other way any time soon. Of course, there are lessons to be learned about being considerate, sharing, being patient and realizing that other people also have wants and needs. But there is so much security in being the centre of the universe; so much confidence. I think there's plenty of time to learn those lessons gradually, keeping that security and confidence intact while slowly realizing that the world does not revolve around you.


And hopefully by the time they are ready to fly solo, they will go easy on their old Mom when they laugh at her school photos. Yes, that shirt was fashionable at the time. Seriously.