{"id":10,"date":"2007-10-15T20:12:29","date_gmt":"2007-10-16T03:12:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/theagingofaquarius.com\/ag_blog\/?p=10"},"modified":"2007-10-17T08:02:21","modified_gmt":"2007-10-17T15:02:21","slug":"10","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theagingofaquarius.com\/ag_blog\/10\/","title":{"rendered":"Other People’s Kids"},"content":{"rendered":"

“All unattended children will be given espresso and a free puppy.”<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 …Sign in a Mill Valley shop window<\/strong><\/p>\n

I like the owner’s sense of humor and\u00a0I sympathize. It’s a tiny store with narrow aisles and plenty of kids roaming among the knick-knacks.\u00a0\u00a0 In the past, I’ve avoided some stores entirely until the kids went home.<\/p>\n

It’s not the kids’ fault.\u00a0 They’re doing what comes naturally and that includes testing all the rules and wandering away from their parents.\u00a0 They bump into things.\u00a0 They pick up breakables.\u00a0 And if their parents look away for one minute, they’ll even leave the store with the goods.\u00a0 That’s how kids behave.<\/p>\n

I was always the person annoyed by screaming babies on airplanes.\u00a0 I knew they couldn’t help it, but since I’d already raised mine, I figured I\u00a0deserved a break, so, whenever possible,\u00a0I moved to a quieter place on the plane.\u00a0<\/p>\n

I like kids, but I was never anybody’s Universal Mama.\u00a0 I didn’t try to befriend every child I met and didn’t rush to hold every new baby.\u00a0 I loved raising my daughter,\u00a0enjoyed it more than anything\u00a0else I’ve done,\u00a0but after she took her adult steps into the world, I was content\u00a0settling\u00a0back into my own life.<\/p>\n

A few years ago I was sitting in the boarding area at San Francisco airport with a baby screaming nearby and parents who didn’t seem able to comfort her.\u00a0 Without warning, something inside me shifted.\u00a0 My first thought wasn’t the usual I hope they don’t sit near me.\u00a0 It was why aren’t those parents taking better care of that poor little baby?<\/p>\n

This small town I live in is full of children.\u00a0 Every other person in the checkout line seems to be attached to a stroller.\u00a0 One day I found myself making direct eye contact with a spiky-haired toddler with a messy face.\u00a0 I don’t know what manner of sticky cookie had attacked him while his mommy shopped, but he grinned at me through the gook\u00a0and I grinned right back and felt a pang when he left the market.<\/p>\n

Suddenly all babies looked cute.\u00a0 Even the homely ones.\u00a0 When I mentioned this odd development to my friend, Sueann, she smiled and nodded.\u00a0 She asked, “Are you just now starting to follow strollers?\u00a0 John and I have been doing that for years.”\u00a0 She said it has something to do with getting to be grandparent age.\u00a0 Nope, I said, it couldn’t be that because there’s not a hint of a grandchild in my future.\u00a0 In fact, the odds are definitely against that happening.\u00a0 “Doesn’t matter,” she said.<\/p>\n

One day you’re minding your own business, steering clear of screaming kids,\u00a0 and all of a sudden every small creature seems precious.\u00a0 Maybe the universe is preparing a whole bunch of us for on-call nurturing duty because a new batch of vulnerable beings\u00a0is arriving every day.\u00a0 And nature has been known to turn unusual species into willing caretakers, so\u00a0that\u00a0babies and puppies and kittens\u00a0will all find care when they need it.<\/p>\n

\u00d3<\/span><\/span> By Anita Garner<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“All unattended children will be given espresso and a free puppy.” \u00a0\u00a0 …Sign in a Mill Valley shop window I like the owner’s sense of humor and\u00a0I sympathize. 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