Good Luck!

I thought long and hard on what to put on a baby shower cake I was about to make.  All the usual designs that came to mind at first were cliches at best.  Cute babies, teddy bears, ducks, animals, 'hearty congratulations', 'best wishes'...the list was endless.  While all of them were appealing they just didn't jive with me.  So, I decided to be bold and true and not keep the expectant couple in any kind of false hope or pretense any more.  I think 'good luck' is actually more apt for first time parents (who rarely have a clue what they are in for) than any other greeting.  For it is 'luck' alone that could possibly ensure an easy delivery, a baby who sleeps through the night, has predictable feed times, doesn't need a zillion diapers a day and never, ever barfs on your best clothes.  None of the other inscriptions would come even close to making these possible. 

I have also realized the true significance of a baby shower besides helping the new parents with commercial items of use.  It is to impart to them a false sense of joy and hope that their lives will be filled with fun and happiness over the next couple of years.  The reality is perhaps all too well known for established moms and dads.  Never before in your life would you have imagined that the word 'poop' could have such a high significance in your discussions at home, work, doctor's office and in day to day socializing.  How in the world can something so adorably cute and cuddly ever produce something that could best be described as a weapon of chemical warfare..I say forget the gases Soldiers, just throw poop diapers at your enemies to suffocate them.  Cheaper and just as effective...even biodegradable!  What's even more surprising and offers solace is the fact that you soon get to a state where you are comfortable leaving the dinner table, changing one and coming right back to your meal without so much as blinking an eye.  Once you have reached that stage, you need not fear anything else in the world ever again.  And if this alone was not enough there is nothing in this world that will test the strength of your marriage than a seemingly adorable  8lb bundle of joy.  If you survive the first year together, rest assured that you can survive a nuclear holocaust.

All said and done, we eventually recover after a few years and sometimes go through the same experience a second time or more...(I can see why Martians think us to be super idiots).  So there must be some magic beyond the sleepless nights, the smelly clothes and endless domestic fights.  It's the magic in those innocent eyes, the love in their hugs, the silly giggles and the fact that babies don't discriminate.  They have no pre-conceived notions about the world and they don't care if you are rich or poor, fat or thin, dark or fair...All they care about is love and hugs and if you ask me, that's a lesson we need to learn from them.