Conversations: The Simple Things in Life

A while back, I was sitting at our kitchen table writing a proposal for work. In front of our table is a double window that provides a view of our humble College Avenue. In the middle of a thought, something caught my eye - a little woman strolling along with a walker, moving quite briskly. It made me grin because she was just trucking right along.

Then, focusing back on my computer screen, I was again distracted by something moving on the street. This time, it was a little man... with a matching walker in bright blue... who was doing his best to keep up with the mover and shaker who was apparently his walking partner.

This made me not just grin, but giggle. Out loud. I couldn't miss this Kodak moment! I quickly retreived the camera-only to come back to the window and find that the speedy lady had stopped and was sitting in her walker (apparently they are dual-functional!) looking fondly upon her slower walking partner. By the time I had the right vantage point, this is what I ended up with:

It was this sweet simplicity that reminded me how precious a conversation can be. Each day I feel like I have a new conversation with "Little Beck":

• I can see you're having a bout of the hiccups baby; should I ask daddy to come say "boo!" to the bump that is your home?
• You're not moving nearly as much as normal... is everything ok?
• OOH! I like this fabric design... will you like it as curtains in the nursery?
• That heartburn is really catching up with me... is it because you're growing hair already, little bean? (Wives' tale: babies born with hair caused their "grower" more heartburn than those born bald.)

In addition to these conversations that go mostly un-vocalized, the little bean also already receives plenty of verbal attention from "mom," "dad" and others:

• Chris's ever-available words of recommendation about the activities in which the babe will participate (we will love soccer, right baby?)
• My singing: depending on the day/mood/song I just heard, I may be singing anything from "Baby Mine" (by Bette Midler from Beaches) to "So What" (by rocker Pink), or "Candyman" (by Christina Aguilera as a retro gal) to "Summertime" (the famous Gershwin tune from Porgy and Bess - though my version's more modern)
• If the baby could hear everything I hear (I read that the baby hears most of what I hear... though it's a bit muted), it would hear all sorts of inquiries about itself. Wanting to know if it's a he or a she, when it will officially introduce itself, if it has a name yet, if it's nursery is shaping up, etc.

Of course, these conversations with and about Baby Beck will continue on forever - and nothing makes me happier :)