In love with the new, young prince

CHERRIL DOTY

“Beautiful child ... You are a beautiful child. And I am a fool once

more.”

-- Stevie Nicks

“I am in love!” My daughter Jenna’s words echo those of all our

family members. The arrival of the young prince has turned us all

into love struck fools. “Twitterpated” as Thumper would say in the

Disney film, “Bambi.”

Ten pounds, eight ounces after a month of life. Christian Everett

Michael Aison. So much name for such a little guy. A name that is

filled with possibilities. A name that is filled with reverence.

Christian for their friend who died in the World Trade Center

disaster. Everett for Patrick’s own father. Michael for Kendall’s.

This beautiful child is none of these people ... and all of them.

We all are in love with this baby. His new life seems to bring

with it bliss such as that found in new or first love.

His parents, Kendall and Patrick, cannot seem to get enough of

him, playing with fingers and toes and telling him how much they love

him as he sleeps peacefully through it all.

Watching my mother-in-law with young Christian at three weeks of

age, I find myself wondering what the change is I am seeing in her.

She glows in some familiar, long-forgotten way.

My own mother longs to hold this baby in her arms and has said at

age 88 this is what she lives for.

Cathy, Patrick’s mother, though now back in New York, seems to

think of him almost constantly. I can still see her broad smile and

the twinkle of her brown eyes as she held the brand-new Christian,

exclaiming how beautiful he was, her body gently swaying in its own

love dance.

His grandfather, Mike, has weekly postings of Christian on his

office door for all to see. And the pictures! Patrick and I have a

reciprocal sharing of images I print off and send on to the rest of

the family.

Of course the euphoria we are all feeling is about hope and

possibilities for the future. But it seems odd somehow to see us all

caught up in this gaga state. Even as I am a part of this, I cannot

help but wonder just what it is about babies.....

Maybe it’s in the smiles. Just shaping the mouth into a smile

increases the blood flow to the brain, causing feelings of elation.

The action of smiling also changes brain temperature and creates a

release of neurotransmitters.

Maybe it’s just a chemical reaction. The hormone -- oxytocin --

that sweeps mother and baby up in a sweet dance of love,

interdependency, and survival is the same one present in the sweep of

romantic love. We’ve all felt this before. “Gaga” is just another way

of describing the feelings of euphoria, rejuvenation, optimism, and

energy -- the body’s chemical reaction that sends the brain into high

gear.

And so as we pass Christian from one family member to another, we

all seem to seesaw between that goo-goo eyed infatuation and a

narcotic peacefulness. The close, intimate-feeling moments of warmth

with the young prince trigger endorphins, calming and reassuring us

all.

The unceasing demands of motherhood -- and in more and more cases

fatherhood -- can be flabbergasting. This time of our life is

terrific and terrifying, fantastic and frustrating, involving and

utterly tedious, at one and the same time. It is a time filled with

joys and with sorrows. What is assumed to come naturally is so very

difficult to do ... and to do well seems downright monumental in

scope. The “twitterpation” may well be what holds us through

sleepless nights and more, until the bond is so unbreakable that we

stick through the ups and downs of our “babies” lives.

This being said, the past dances with the present and the future

in my mind as I hold the soft, fragrant bundle. In the stillness as

he sleeps in my arms, I am reminded how lucky, how blessed we are. As

I look forward to exploring the mysteries that will unfold in the

eyes of our young prince, I plan to stay in this luscious state of

infatuation, my role to be a willing and captive companion and to

stay always “a fool.” For, as Jenna says, I am in love.

“If a child is to keep alive his inborn sense of wonder without

any such gift from the fairies, he needs the companionship of at

least one adult who can share it, rediscovering with him the joy,

excitement and mystery of the world we live in.” -- Rachel Carson

* CHERRIL DOTY is a creative life coach and artist in love with

exploring the mysteries of life. You can reach her by e-mail at

cherril@cherrildoty.com or by calling 949-251-3883