Babies, Babies, BA-bies

I've been saving that for eight months just so that I can annoy whoreface. I was thinking today about how much the birth of a child changes people's lives. Not just their parents, but everyone connected to them. I feel honored to have been there on the day that Kaia came into the world. So I missed the exciting entrance. Oh well, I'll be there for other moments. The most important thing is that she is healthy, her mom is healthy, and the family is together. Which brings me to the following thoughts, and I think about this not only in the context of Kaia, but for all the children that I work with or am in contact with in some way. How can I best help someone to realize their full potential? For some kids, I think this means just not getting in the way, letting them discover who they are and where their abilities lie without too many rules, or criticism, or shoulds. For others, I think it means shining a light on their "specialness," enough so that they believe they have a potential, even if the others in their lives don't. Kaia was born to two parents who are grounded, caring, intelligent and loving. So for her, I think the best I can do to not get in her way is to be another positive female role model. To me, this means having a positive body image, no matter the size, and developing healthy relationships. Lord knows how hard it is to grow up as a girl and come out with either, not to mention both of these things. My hope is that little Kaia will spend her mental energy thinking about how she can impact the world rather than how many calories are in french fries.