Going to town

The thing about carrying a tiny baby around town is that you start to notice that everyone is looking at you. It’s weird… usually one of the reasons Candice and I like walking into town is because the people watching is so great; this time of year there are tourists from all over the world, and they make for really funny and interesting entertainment. In the past, we could walk through town in relative obscurity, analyzing and talking about people without really being noticed. The problem with watching people when you have a cute baby strapped to your chest is that everyone starts looking at you, so your people watching cover is effectively blown.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s pretty fun. It must be what really good looking people or movie stars feel like when they walk through a crowd. People will just stare at Asher cuddled up in his little carrier and as they pass I’ll hear them whisper something like “Ahhh, precious” under their breath. Today, I was walking behind two women and one of them caught a glance of Asher, she turned to the other lady and said, “Have you seen this baby behind us? So cute!“ The checkout lady at the grocery store couldn’t resist striking up a conversation; the lady in Subway making our sandwiches was so overwhelmed she had to tell us that she was pregnant (and only a few weeks in and hasn’t told anybody). The bank teller couldn’t stop staring, and the Gap employee gave googly eyes every time she passed us in the store. It’s really incredible.

Another part of the whole gig that I find equally interesting is that people are extremely nice to us now. Not that people weren’t generally nice to us before; but it seems that now servers in restaurants are quicker about bringing us the check and people in general are just friendlier and more delighted to talk to you. It’s like having the baby instantly garners the goodwill of everyone around you. That lady in the Gap today was like, “Why don’t you sit over here instead of standing with him.” I’ve never been offered a seat while waiting for Candice to try on clothes in my life!

Now, obviously WE think our Asher is gorgeous, but I don’t think that’s the only reason people stare or are friendly. I have a theory about why this is… on the one hand, there are women who are pre-children whose ovaries are jumping as soon as they see your baby. They are kind because they’ve just been hit with the “motherly mood”. On the other hand, there are those who have had children… they are admiring your baby, sure enough… but they are essentially nice to you because they have a special pity for you. The first question is always, “How old?” When we say five weeks, they look at him and say, “Oh, five weeks… bless him.” Then they look at us and think, “Oh, five weeks… poor things.”