Have you ever thrilled to the sound and sight of babies? Of their gurgles of delight at your silly peekaboo face? Of the infant’s long-awaited burp signalling all’s been right with the feeding? Of the newborn’s instinctive grasp, so tightly and securely, of an offered finger—awesome throwback to the primordial ape-time when its very survival depended on those tightly grasping fingers never letting go of Mom’s furry belly?

And most of all, of that anxiously awaited first cry upon first entry in the world, a sustained agonised shriek which would have been most alarming under other circumstances? Of next looking upon a mess of blood and slime, upon limbs still quivering from the trauma of birth, upon a face, still pinched in a rictus of crying? And then at last upon a quietened form, snug and content in warm blanket, laid in Mom’s arms, ready to be looked over and commented upon by a never ending stream of family visitors, every feature of nose, mouth, eyes, brow and chin evaluated as to its claim of family resemblance.

Have you, modern Moms in this age of ultra sound technology, thrilled to the sight of that growing life inside your belly? It can’t be! What, is that the heart beating? That little tail, those grotesque side eyes, more throwbacks to an even earlier time of life in the primordial seas? Mom-to-be, if at this stage, you stand beside a chicken, a dog, a pig, that happen to be fellow moms-to-be, all your growing babies look the same! And soon you say goodbye to one another, as you go your different evolutionary paths, and prepare for birth. There is no greater miracle or thrill.

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About Vignettes...

A continuing flow of little, readable pieces that will constitute what I feel is an important 'legacy of values' to leave behind. Read more about Vignettes...