A couple of months ago we attended one of several graduation parties on our summer calendar. After polishing off the obligatory plate of grad party chicken and potato salad, I offered to hold a young mother's baby so she could sit down and eat in peace.
I have been on both sides of this equation. There was a time when our greatest desire was for someone at a family get-together to walk up and offer to hold whichever small/infant child we had at the time.
Having two hands available for eating is a treat only parents of young ones can truly appreciate.
I walked around the party chatting up various guests while holding the baby, who was getting tired and was thus a little fussy. Immediately, without even thinking about it, I went into Bounce Mode.
Moms and dads know what I'm talking about. You start bouncing up and down lightly on your toes in an attempt to lull the little one to sleep.
I had probably been bouncing for 5 or 10 minutes before I even realized I was doing it.
I'm not sure I did it well (he never did go to sleep while I was holding him), but I can tell you there was a time when I was a master of the Bounce. Back when Terry was having biennial babies, I could be counted on to put them to sleep almost every time no matter how unhappy they were.
I always said it was because I was so boring they just couldn't keep their eyes open. But I think it had something to do with the consistent rhythm of my bouncing. I just had the knack for it.
Nowadays I'm out of practice, naturally, but it was good to see that vestige of early fatherhood rising subconsciously to the surface.
It will come in handy when we have grandchildren.
Or maybe my retirement gig will be hiring myself out to frazzled young parents to have a moment to themselves while I gently bounce their babies to Dreamland.
I could make a fortune.
No comments:
Post a Comment