December is already here and it is a bit alarming. This means that classes are coming to a close, final papers are needing to be written, and my son is getting even older. He’ll be 4 months old very soon. My mother tells me that 4 months old is her favorite age for babies because they’re responsive and interactive. They’ll laugh and talk and play but they’re not moving themselves around yet and are still cute cute babies. This is not to say that she hates the other stages of infancy because she just loves babies and certainly loves her grandson.
Part of her list of characteristics have already come true for 4 month old babies: my son laughed. He was riding on my wife’s knee in the air and staring at his mother and he started laughing. The stress that melts away when the baby talks or says his “ooh’s” and “ah’s” is nothing compared to the joy of hearing him laugh. I’d never heard anything so wonderful before. My wife was laughing and my son was laughing and I was just staring in awe and listening intently. It didn’t last particularly long and he hasn’t done it since but I’m really looking forward to laughing with my son more often.
I’d like to think that my son, who is not yet 4 months old, is ahead of the curve a bit in the happiness department. My wife and I are happy people and we enjoy laughing. I’d like to think that the environment my son is growing up in his full of happiness, laughter, and love. Despite the hardships we have (and inevitably will) face I’ve always found laughter a useful tool in combating times of difficulty. Hopefully there will be a great deal of laughter ahead for my small family. Hopefully there will be more laughter because of joy than hardship but laughter itself is a “glass half full” type of perspective on life. Either way we’ll keep laughing together and loving each other.