Babysitting

Is there anything more precious than a newborn babe? I am today sat as the babysitter to my precious new great niece. How did I get so lucky? My sister, the Nana, is off doing charity work, and my niece is off to work. Since I have not yet gone back to driving the bus, I was available to take on this beautiful charge and am loving every moment with the babe. She is a lovely little thing with dark curling hair and a round cherub's face. It is so easy to forget just how small they are newly arrived in the world. Holding her in my arms, I see so much of her mother in her. She has wrapped herself around my heart and occupies her own little space there. I have fed her, changed her, and rocked her to sleep with a lullaby. That innate urge we have to mother all comes rushing back when an infant is placed in our arms. She has been sleeping peacefully for an hour and a half now. I have checked to see that she is indeed sleeping and just fine, fighting back the urge to wake her so that I can hold her again. I have been mislead in the fact that I heard her parents have to hold her all the time. I am sure it was just a ruse to make sure I would say yes to caring for her. If my nieces and nephews affect me so strongly, I wonder what I will be like with grandchildren of my own. I will probably one of those grandmothers that we all avoid so as not to suffer through another boatload of pictures. I can't wait.