Baby Blues deux

I was at a meeting the other day, and this one woman brought her grandbaby along. She didn't have any other option: apparently her son is a real shit-bag of a parent. But that's her story and not mine, not exactly relevant to the tone of the piece other than to give some foundation as to why she was there with that baby. As soon as she came in with that baby, I knew I had to hold that baby. It was more than just wanting to: I NEEDED to hold that baby. This is always awkward for me, because I don't know if I could let anyone else ever hold my potentio-metric baby and I know some people are the same way and I don't want to be desperate to hold babies, because that is creepy. So I offered to hold it if she needed, and soon enough she did. Now, this may have presented a problem since I was in charge of the meeting. But it didn't: I bounced him around (gently) while I talked, and then lifted him up in my arms while someone else talked. He loved that, shining his big toothless grin at the sensation of being lifted up a foot. I think that once my dissertation has started to wrap itself up, I am TOTALLY going to have to get on the baby train (if for no other reason that I will no longer have to rely on the kindness of strangers to give me a fix every now and then). Is it sad that I have so much love to give and no one to receive it? Maybe. I try not to let it get me down.