My charmed life

I've decided that any time I feel sorry for myself, start wishing I had more than I do, or ever feel like Baby C doesn't have "enough", I need to go to the Women, Infants & Children Center at the closest Department of Health office and sit there for a few minutes, observing people.

I was there this morning to get a copy of Baby C's birth certificate. (I actually picked up a couple of copies of it, just in case.) It's one of the last things I need to do before he can start school on Monday. Anyway, I honestly thought it would be a quick visit - I would just go in, fill out a form, pay a fee, take my copies, then leave. And I think it would have been that easy if the woman in line in front of me understood that this office only provided certified computer copies of the birth certificate (accepted by all local, state and federal agencies) and not the original. So, I waited for a good half hour before she finally understood. In the meantime, I observed other women and their children.

Babies, I've determined, are perfect little beings with the potential to become whatever their environments shape them to be. They are all genetically predisposed in one way or another (some will be tall, some will need glasses, some will be overweight), but their personalities haven't been completely formed yet. What they believe they can do and who they will become are determined largely by their surroundings. And in watching some of the babies this morning (and, in many cases, their older siblings, too), I realized how much of an advantage Baby C already has over them because he has a very comfortable life, and his family will make sure he never wants for anything.

And though I know there are lots of people who have more material things than I do, I realized that I, with my cushy 9-ish to 5-ish job and living in my comfy 4/2.5 suburban home with a loving husband and a healthy baby, live a very charmed life, indeed.