I deeply, sincerely love my new niece! My mom & I spent 3 days visiting/helping this past week, and boy was it a delight. She is small, sweet, soft, beautiful, adorable, and the most absorbing thing to stare at that I have ever seen. Talk about a meditative state – I could literally hold her and look at her for a solid hour without a trace of boredom. That soft hair and skin! The gentle breathing! Perfect shaped head and little sweet body! I am deeply in love.
Being around a baby that young – only 3 days old when we arrived – was a new experience for me. Spending intensive time with her was a sharp reminder of how innocent and vulnerable children are. So completely dependent, and so trusting of the care you give them – how can a parent or care-giver do anything but his or her best to create a loving, focused, attentive environment for a new child? I found myself hyper-conscious of the stimuli she encountered, of the words used around her, of the amount of love and nurturing, attention, touch and cuddling that she received (which was quite a bit :)).
I can’t believe I have to wait until Christmas to see that sweet angel again! Fortunately my sister & I can video-chat, and they are posting pictures of her – otherwise I would die of deprivation.
At this point I can’t quite imagine how I will feel towards my own child, if my adoration of my niece is this strong. Wow … something to look forward to.