A couple of weekends ago, I joined my brother, his wife and their 3-month-old baby in Sacramento for a family get together. But because it was the first time we’ve been together since the kid was born, it was more of a “gather-round-and-marvel-at-how-cute-the-baby-is” than anything else.
And let me say, babies are cute. Like, yeah, of course babies are cute, and if you haven’t been around one before, babies are really cute! They possess the “make-funny-noises-and-talk-embarrassingly-in-front-of-complete-strangers” kind of cuteness. But more than anything, babies are smart.
Here are some life lessons my 3-month-old niece taught me that weekend.
- You don’t have to talk to communicate effectively. I am an avid talker, and I often get frustrated with the more quiet personas among my friends. But my niece can say nothing and yet express all sorts of opinions — happiness, sadness, frustration, “holy cow these toes are connected to me” — her communication runs the gamut of emotion. This is really a lesson more so on paying attention. That is, if you give someone your undivided attention, they don’t really have to use words to speak volumes.
- You don’t have to be a good dancer to enjoy moving to the beat. For the self-conscious boogier, go look at a baby next time you’re too shy to dance. They will teach you that embarrassment is an affectation. Who cares if you can’t dance, if your limbs are flailing and your best hip movement is some kind of up-down-up motion? If you want to shake it, just shake it. Judgments be dammed.
- There are no joys like the simple ones, is perhaps the greatest lesson we can learn from the babies. If my niece is clean, fed, warm and well rested, there is nothing in the world that can bother her. Well, you might say it’s easy for a baby to be clean and fed and all of that. What about us adults? Think back to the last time you were really hungry. For most of us, it’s a rare, if ever, occurrence. We can’t complain of cold in a climate like Phoenix and the ASU Student Recreation Complex has free showers. Well rested? Well, that’s the tough one. Then again, we’re college students. Sleeping is supposed to be what we do best.
Reach the columnist at alesha.rimmelin@asu.edu
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