Having a newborn is wonderful. Despite the fact that they can be so hard, nature made babies adorably sweet. Everything from their baby smell, soft skin, tiny little noises they make, newborn cries, their chubby little cheeks pressed against your chest…I can go on and on. I love babies. I especially love my sweet baby.
I love when they look up at you with wonder in their eyes, like they just figured out there are things to see in the world. My son has started doing this and every time it makes me melt. I can just see him taking the world in with those sweet eyes. He studies my face so intently and then breaks out in a smile and the joy radiates out of him.
Everything is new. Everything is wonderful.
Mom’s face. The sky. Colors and shapes and sounds. Everything.
We forget in the hustle and bustle of our own lives how the details in life matter. The small details. We forget the things that have been in front of us for what seems like forever, but a baby takes those same details in as the most amazing thing ever. After all, for them it might be the first time they’ve laid eyes on a pink flower or a furry dog.
My older children do this too. My son exclaimed with joy at the first time he touched a snake. My daughter was over the moon the first time she tasted a brownie. They have new experiences throughout childhood, and that’s what makes childhood so innocent and magical.
Beginner’s eyes.
They remind me to put the brakes on in my own life and to practice those beginner’s eyes again.
We constantly lust after the first times. The first time we fell in love. The first time we got on an airplane. The first time, first time, first time…
But we forget how beautiful the same things are the second, third, fourth, fifth…whatever time.
I was sitting in my doctor’s office postpartum with my 6 week old baby. I expected everyone to oogle and google at my new little one–to be as fascinated and in love as I was.
Nope. The doctor had delivered tons of babies. Old news.
It reminds me about my own occupation. My students want me to make them feel like they’re my most special class of students. Even though I’ve had tons and tons of classes and students and more school years than I care to admit, they want to feel special.
So, back to beginner’s eyes.
Making things special for me…again and again and again.
Making things special for others…again and again and again.
Beginners with seasoned experience. A renewed appreciation for life. I like it.
Teresa Shimogawa 