Smile

Smiles are contagious unless it's a smile from the creepy clown that invades your nightmares and as of recent some roadside in some random US city. smh

This has been an extremely tough week but I have to keep telling myself, "smile" even when I don't feel like I will ever smile again.

Seems strange? Crazy? Unorthodox? Well, yes it is but when you are stuck in a place that starts feeling familiar and comfortable and you know you can't stay there, sometimes it takes something unorthodox to pull you out and place you back where you need to be.

Have you smiled today?

Why it is important to share a smile.

I saw so many baby girls today with their mothers. Some were so adorable with their mothers and made me smile and a few of the sightings upset my spirit. Not the babies but the relationship the mother was cultivating with the child. What I saw was one mother kissing her baby (about 3-5 months old) and in this stage the coo cooing is going on and you just love the baby and she's so so cute. Then I saw a little girl with her mother and siblings and the mother was on the cell phone while the little girl was bouncing around the train with her sister then the mother grabbed the girl and basically cussed her out like she was an adult. When she grabbed the child, the child almost bucked back at her but the look on the child's face reflected the attitude the mother had. It felt like they both were saying "I can't stand you." The mother did say something very negative to her but the entire episode upset my spirit.

If you don't know this about me, I don't have any children but I love them. I have had mixed feelings about having children but I have always wanted a daughter. I wanted her to have what I didn't have as a child, teenager and adult. As it stands, I am prepared to accept that children were not in my plan. This sometimes bother me because I feel that I won't have anyone to carry on any type of legacy I may have. It's hurtful when you think about it but I have accepted it. I'll be 40 years old this year and I am currently single so there is a great chance I will never have babies of my own. I haven't ruled it out but medical issues also play a role in my acceptance.

I look at these women and men with these children and though it sounds hokey and old school, these children are really our future. They are our present. These little girls will grow to be girlfriends and maybe wives and mothers. Are we equipping our baby girls with the love and support they will need to come to us when they need help and when they need answers in difficult times or are we setting them up to handle life the best way they know how which may not include love, support, wisdom and security? This same question goes for boys also but our girls;

Are we completely preparing them for what's to come?

In tough times and in their pain, do they feel like they can come to you?

Do you or have you shown them the kind of affection that lets them know that your arms are safe for them to fall into and cry?

Have you ever mentioned loving them so they feel that even if the world treats them mean, there is somewhere they can go to for love?

What are we giving to our baby girls? Even if they are teenagers, young adults or adult mothers, to someone, they are still baby girls.

In my observation, when the young mother was manhandling her daughter, I noticed a young girl standing on the train and she was looking at the little girl. As the little girl stared at her with what appeared to be a blank and unknowing facial expression, the young girl standing waved at her with a smile and said "Hi."  The little girl's expression never changed. The young girl kept waving and saying "Hi".  No change in expression.  What is in the life of this baby that she has such sorry on her face? I don't know her mother and she may love her but if you are willing to be that abrasive to her in public, imaging the environment at home. I'm not judging. I'm just saying I don't understand how people aren't loving on these babies. I know, someone are a handful and make you want to scream but they are still babies.

I love these little babies but they aren't mine and I have no control over how they are loved at home but we all need to be emotionally available in case we are sitting on the train and see a little girl with that expression. Will you have enough love in you to share a moment of it with a smile to a little girl who may not otherwise receive any?