Crouching Tiger, Crawling Dragon

Today your Dad brought you in after your "Papa + Phee Time" (the time from 7am-8:30 every morning where you hang with Dad while I get the bed to myself) and announced: "Phoenix has some exciting news! He's crawling!"

On your 7 month Birth-versary you upgraded your scooch to a full-on crawl. There's not much to say besides, "YOU ARE AWESOME!" and "We are so proud of you."

Here's what I captured when I finally got out of bed this morning.

People We Love

PEOPLE WE LOVE

The sweet old lady at the grocery store.  From here on out known as Her.

Went to the grocery store to get tequila, an onion, canned seasoned tomatoes and vanilla ice cream. We are making mole (courtesy of the fabulously talented Cathy Shambley Baer aka Showfood Chef) for dinner tonight, Phoenix. And it's margarita Sunday. And the season finale of Newsroom, your Dad's favorite show these days. And I made a big thing of nutella brownies last night, so naturally, we must let them swim in some vanilla goodness post-dinner tonight.

In the self-checkout line I hear:

Her: Girl, that baby's bout as big as you! [smile]
Me: Yes, he is. [smile]

Her: How much did he weigh at birth? It's a boy right?
Me: Yes, it's a boy. He was 7 pounds, 11 oz.

Her: Oh, that's not too bad. Okay, so he's just BIG.
Me: Yes, he is. [smile]

Her: What you feedin him?
Me: Milk.

Her: Oh, you nursin him? That's real good. You must keep a real good diet.
[We both look down at the tequila, ice cream, onion and canned tomatoes.]
Me: I try. [smile]

Her: What's his name?
Me: Phoenix.

Her: That's a good name. I got a niece named Dakota. [smile]
Me: Oh, I like that name. [smile]

Her & Me: (in unison) Well, have a good day. [smile]

I love sweet old people that talk to you like they're your grandma's best friend, and just throw their sweet old people energy around. In this crazy world of minimal eye-contact, over vigilance and general wariness of anyone that we do not know, you, Mr. Squirrel (and babies in general), are the great knockers down of walls. People want to know about new little humans. You inspire them to talk to a complete stranger. You bring smiles to and between people who would've never shared a glance. You are a little slice of hope for our world which is lacking compassion, empathy and connection. And I hope that you can keep that little light within and about you all the days of your life.