A Cute Baby And The Greatest Joy

Some people may think that once your baby or babies have flown the proverbial nest that unrelenting, full-time love is no longer necessary. And, to some, the love that transpires for your baby requires little if any on-going reinforcement once they have grown to their adult years. I believe that this type of thinking is faulty. I was recently looking at one of my children’s baby books and came across a new baby saying that was sent by a relative years ago. The saying about new baby was by Frank A. Clark which stated, “A baby is born with a need to be loved - and never outgrows it." I agree.

Love isn’t just a commodity that occasionally occurs. Love has many forms and while love shown for a child may be somewhat different than love shown towards a young adult, love has the same roots. It’s not only the caring, nurturing type, it’s the kind of love that will support a child’s growth needs, that will model the type of love that you would want your child to show on a consistent basis to their own children in future years. The facets of love that I speak of are manifested in many forms, in many ways including the love extended towards your adult child’s spouse and to your grandchildren. It is a love that while unbounded is also guarded with a vengeance when and if any untoward person seeks to do harm to your child.

One of the great paybacks of extending love on an on-going basis is the joy that it brings to you constantly demonstrating your capacity to share, to be part of, to always be seen as the person to whom an your child, no matter what there age, can turn to when stressors of life cast their shadow upon them. It is a joy to be able to help, to be able to be recognized as an on-going integral part of a child’s life no matter how old they, or where they live. The capacity for extended love is a capacity that lasts forever, never fading, and always at the beck and call of any child.

And, while we would all like to think that your cute baby now grown to an adult would always show their appreciation for your love, unfortunately, this may not be the case. But, despite the visits that may not occur as much as you’d like, or the phone calls that are spaced too far apart to remember the time of the last call, or commitments that take them to extended families rather than you, love never is questioned, is never rationed based on frequency of attention, nor does it fade into a love lost over distance or time.

For those who have given their unquestioning love and who’ve never asked anything in return is to know and understand the true joy that giving love brings. And, the greatest thanks a parent can hear no matter the time, the year, or the occasion are those few great words spoken in return that say, “I love you”.