5dpIUI, Babies, Julia, and Me

I love/hate babies.

I love them in my imagination and I love them in my dreams. I love my friend's baby (and thank goodness I only have one friend with a baby, because I think for now that's enough).

But I hate public babies. What do I mean? Those babies whose parents have decided they are a gift that they have given to the world, and who try to get you to acknowledge their baby's adorableness by theatrically fussing and cooing over them in public. I don't play their game. I'm like the cranky old-maid that walks by with her head held high and says, "Pshaw!"

Oooohhhhh.... I'm a bitter bitter woman.

But, on a related note, I watched Julie and Julia last night, and really appreciated the shout-out to the infertiles. For anyone who hasn't seen it, there's a scene where Julia Child gets a letter from her newly married sister with the announcement that she's pregnant. Julia, her voice catching, says to her husband, "Isn't that just wonderful news?" She then begins to cry and buries her head in his shoulder. "Yes, it is," he says as he strokes her hair. "I'm so happy," she says through tears. "I know," he says, patting her gently, "I know you are."

The most wonderful thing about the movie, of course, is how wonderfully happy and full of life Julia Child is. It's an inspiration, really. She so longed for children, but lived an amazing and accomplished life without them.

And so, she inspires me to throw off my bitterness, and to instead look at all the wonderful things in my life and say, through my tears, "I'm so happy!" Because, as Julia knew, what else can you do but live the life you have to its fullest?