Listening

Right now I can think of a million other "better" uses for my time than this blog. There's the floor that hasn't been mopped, the laundry that needs to be folded, and the bathroom that hasn't been cleaned in...wait a minute, when was the last time we cleaned the bathroom? All that aside however, I want a chance to brag on my baby girl for a little bit. Of course, every parent thinks their child is the prettiest, smartest, most athletic, et cetera, and I am no different. So, you'll have to indulge me.

Since Emmie was born, every one who has met her says they can't believe how alert she is. Now she is seven weeks old and if you hold her and talk to her--when she's awake--she will stare at you and wrinkle up her forehead and listen to every word you say. She wrinkles up her forehead lots, like she is busy thinking hard about the world. I can't believe how much she loves to listen to everyone talk. She just learned how to smile, and she smiles alot, but it's hard to catch her at it, because there are so many other things that occupy her attention. As soon as we get the camera out to take a picture of it, she is fascinated by the camera. As soon as someone holds her and tries to get her to smile she won't do it because she's watching them, and listening to them talk. When Emmeline is like that, it makes me think of what Eudora Welty said: that every good writer must be a listener and an observer. Who knows, maybe one day Emmeline will be winning Pulitzer Prizes too!

"When at length we bought our first automobile, one of our neighbors was often invited to go with us on the family Sunday afternoon ride. In Jackson it was counted an affront to the neighbors to start out for anywhere with an empty seat in the car. My mother sat in the back with her friend, and I'm told that as a small child I would ask to sit in the middle, and say as we started off, 'Now talk.'"
--Eudora Welty, One Writer's Beginnings