I started reading "Eat Pray Love" last night by Elizabeth Gilbert. I noticed this book about a year ago but was not drawn to it enough to buy it. Now that it is coming out as a movie with Julia Roberts, I thought maybe I would reconsider the book before I invest in a movie ticket. You know the cliche' that "the book is always better than the movie"? I happen to believe it is true.
So, this is a biography of a woman in her 40s (check! I am in my 40s) who likes to travel (check! I like to travel) and is trying to find herself (check! I think I have been trying to find myself for the last couple of decades). In the first chapter of the book, Elizabeth (the author) is explaining what led to her "search for everything across Italy, India and Indonesia". She hints of a breakdown in her marriage and how she had the self-realization that she did not want to have a baby or be a mother (which may or may not have contributed to the end of the marriage). I put the book down for a moment to consider her statement. I IMMEDIATELY felt the opposite. I could not imagine myself NOT wanting to have a baby or to be a mother. Regardless of the fact that I married my high school boyfriend and had three babies before I was 25--if I had the chance to reconsider my life and/or the timing of events, I would do it the same ALL OVER AGAIN. I would want babies and I would want to be a mother. It is innate for me to love and care for something. [And I LOVE my 'somethings'.]
Today, I think I was subliminally continuing this thread throughout my day. Though I am very happy that my own kids are grown up and out of the house... I am in love with another baby. His name is Elijah and he is my son's baby: (P.S. I stole this picture from Angela)
This spring, an independent movie called "Babies" was showing at select movie theaters. I missed it here but I am patiently waiting for it to come out on DVD. It compares the early lives of four babies on different continents: (Tell me who can resist the faces of babies??)
And I recently stumbled across the blog of a new mother who is on maternity leave from her career. She is not only in love with her new baby, but she wonders what her baby girl is dreaming about while she naps. She (the mother) creates these wonderful scenes with fabric and props around her sleeping baby, photographs them, and then posts them on her blog as Mila's Daydreams . I adore her imagination and her photography! These images will be priceless in their future... (Of course, I wish I had thought of doing this with my babies!)
What exactly do I love about babies? Well, for starters-- how babies smell right after a bath. A baby's face while it is sleeping. The toothless grin of a baby. The wiggliness of a baby when you are trying to change a diaper. A baby laughing. A baby playing with toys. A baby that holds its hands out to you when you reach for it. A baby's hands holding onto your fingers when it learns how to walk on its tippy-toes. A baby holding a teddy bear. The way a baby rests its head on your shoulder when it is sleeping. A baby sucking its thumb. All of those things are priceless moments when it is YOUR BABY.
(sigh!) I [heart] babies.
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