Oh Baby!

A colleague of mine posted some pic.s on Facebook last week of his beautiful newborn son. Seeing the photos of him and his wife cradling and snuggling that precious little one brought me to tears. I am without a doubt a soppy sentimental soul, and babies get me every time! Joy, joy!

In honor of my colleague's new baby, another colleague's baby due in Sept., and a congregant's first grandchild due in Oct., I wanted to post a "cute baby" image here and came across these. Obviously, these are not a real babies. The headline I saw with this image was "Marzipan Babies". Marzipan babies? Marzipan: that almondy-strange-sweet paste. Really? There were comments that accompanied the images, talking about the amazing talent of the woman who created these 'sweet' little things. You've got to be kidding. Oh, sure, the artist is definitely talented. But marzipan?! As it turns out, the mini babies are not made of marzipan. That was just a hoax. They are actually made from polymer clay. Now that makes more sense. It was just too creepy to think that those adorable little dolls were edible. Can you just imagine?

There are days when I miss cradling my babies, now 22 and 15. You don't have to be a parent to realize just how special children are. They are our teachers as much as we are theirs, and at some point they are our leaders. Look into the eyes of children and you will see your future. Consider some of the enlightened teachers of the world's great religions, like Jesus and Buddha. Their stories start with them as children. Their births are heralded with religious observance, national holidays, and lots of hoopla. But in the words of Sophia Lyon Fahs, an inspiring leader in Unitarian religious education, "Every night a child is born is a holy night." Every night. Every child. That includes you and me too.

Joy, joy! Bring on the babies, hold the marzipan.