You baby!

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The only sensitive thing about me is the soap that I use. It is not that I am incapable of showing empathy or genuinely caring about others. I have those two things down completely. But, I am an optimist with thick skin. Which is why I have little tolerance for people who are constantly negative. I believe that, oftentimes in the free world, their negativity breeds even more negativity regarding the way that others treat them,the way they view themselves and their future. When their negativity manifests itself in their lives, they cry. And that is when I call them, "a baby" -- and by "them", I really mean my older sister. My older sister is a new mom. She is a wonderful older sister and helped me out a lot growing up. Somewhere in life, we switched roles and I became the older sibling. But, that's okay with me, I can handle a little responsibility. This weekend my sister went out of town, leaving me, my mother and my grandmother alone with my nine-month-old niece. I consider this weekend to be like a crash course: Birth Control 101. If I could make a commercial for a nighttime baby product it would begin with this line: It's 2:00am, do you know where your baby is? And if that commercial was taking place in my room last night, the camera would pan to me singing to a screaming baby while rubbing her back. My niece has both a viral infection and an ear infection. Did I mention that her two top teeth are also coming in? This is the first time she's ever been sick and, naturally, it is no fun for her at all. She cries, she screams, she poops and, then, she laughs in my face. When I try to change her diaper, she rolls over. When I fall asleep, she wakes up. If I close my eyes, she pulls on my eyelids. Babies: can't live with them, can't continue the human world as we know it without them. I may have left this out, but I actually love children and my niece is one of the coolest people ever. When she crawls into the room, everyone takes note of it; she can bring any establishment to a standstill with her screams; whether she is happy, sad or angry, you always know exactly how she feels. I love that. But, what I really love about baby -- that's the name I gave her after deciding that "it" was just too impersonal -- is her curious nature. She listens carefully for deep, nocturnal breathing, even while sleeping. She also pays careful attention to her surrounding; she's incredibly observant, noticing everything the broom, vacuum or mop might have missed. But, oh no, she is not stopping there! She must touch that teeny-tiny thing. Shake it. Roll it between her fingers. Then, of course, put it in her mouth. Now, don't take this the wrong way. I am not in any way, shape or form suggesting that you roll the glue off of every credit card offer and put it in your mouth, but I am suggesting that each person be a baby every once in a while. Refresh your curious state, use all of your senses and taste the world.