Little Girl
The twenty-six week rubber baby lay snuggled into the soft cotton sheet on the table at the A+P Show (Agricultural and Prolife Show for the uninitiated). One thumb was in his mouth, the other hand was lying comfortably round his stomach. A little girl stood by the stall, gazing at the babies. I left my strings of baby blue and baby pink balloons with my friend Lillian and moved over to where the babies were sleeping. Carefully, (so as not to wake them) I lifted up the twenty-six week baby.
"Would you like to hold the baby?" I asked the little girl. "This baby's twenty-six weeks. That's what you looked like when you were that young, in your mummy's tummy, and you were quite heavy too. Do you want to hold it?"
The little girl's face was very serious as she nodded and held out her hands to take the baby. As always, I relinquished the baby with a slight feeling of loss, which was always made up for by the look on these kids' faces. The little girl's eyes opened a little wider as she reached for the baby.
Playing with Barbie dolls is one thing, but holding a little twenty-six week baby is a different experience completely.
Gently, the little girl cradled the baby in her arms and looked down at it. As always, I was amazed at the expression on the little girl's face as she held the baby in her arms.
Even teenagers with the slightly worldly and "cool" look would take these babies and cradle them and look down at them with faces that melted into smiles and tenderness.
This little girl was no exception. She handled the baby like it was a little butterfly, and she cradled it and rocked it like you do when you want the baby to go to sleep.
She must have been only six, but as with just about every little girl who'd come to the stall in the last few days, she had a strong maternal instinct.
"300 Dollars that's the price of living what?
Mommy I don't like this clinic"
"I love life
I love my mother for giving me life
We all need to appreciate life
A strong woman that had to make a sacrifice"
Can I Live
"Would you like to hold the baby?" I asked the little girl. "This baby's twenty-six weeks. That's what you looked like when you were that young, in your mummy's tummy, and you were quite heavy too. Do you want to hold it?"
The little girl's face was very serious as she nodded and held out her hands to take the baby. As always, I relinquished the baby with a slight feeling of loss, which was always made up for by the look on these kids' faces. The little girl's eyes opened a little wider as she reached for the baby.
Playing with Barbie dolls is one thing, but holding a little twenty-six week baby is a different experience completely.
Gently, the little girl cradled the baby in her arms and looked down at it. As always, I was amazed at the expression on the little girl's face as she held the baby in her arms.
Even teenagers with the slightly worldly and "cool" look would take these babies and cradle them and look down at them with faces that melted into smiles and tenderness.
This little girl was no exception. She handled the baby like it was a little butterfly, and she cradled it and rocked it like you do when you want the baby to go to sleep.
She must have been only six, but as with just about every little girl who'd come to the stall in the last few days, she had a strong maternal instinct.
"300 Dollars that's the price of living what?
Mommy I don't like this clinic"
"I love life
I love my mother for giving me life
We all need to appreciate life
A strong woman that had to make a sacrifice"
Can I Live
posted by Lydie at
10:36 am
12 Comments:
Sounds like the show went really well!
It's strange how even little kiddies have that instinct.
But how did the guys react when confronted by the rubber babies?
Most of them were just as keen to hold the babies as the little girls, teenagers, mothers and grandmas were. We had a lot of little boys coming over and asking to hold the babies. It was such a big suprise! Even two teenage boys came right into the stall and took a few pamphlets and looked at the babies.
Mainly people held the babies just outside the stall, and I got the feeling that the guys were pretty touched when they held those babies aye.
It was an amazing experience wasn't it Lyd. I like your use of the word uninitiated. Good post.
it was. It's going to be even better next year hopefully :)
Did they really look like real babies???
they looked so much like real babies that some of the time I was afraid they'd wake up ;)
Awww... That would have been so cool!
Yes, indeed. These babies seemed very lifelike. Not only were many people touched by holding the bubs, but I was touched by the positive responses people gave.
Thank you for the story, Lydz! It's a good, written memory.
Thanks Lill :)
you're right, that's exactly what it was supposed to be <3
Hey Lydz, I've tagged you for a meme! If you don't wanna do it, that's cool, but it's really quite fun!
I just tagged you!
I tagged you for a Christmas meme.
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