sure, it's cute. no, i don't need to touch it.

There's something awesome about a friend who doesn't immediately love your kid just for existing and being both chubby and short.

"Yep. It's a baby. Why is its head shaped like that?"

Tell this friend about the baby's milestones, and you'll hear courteous appreciation and a healthy dose of perspective.

"So... she's 'tracking.' She has eyes that function as eyes. No, I mean, hey, that's a good skill, if you're gonna, you know, live in the world."

THAT is refreshing.

Thanks, friend-who-isn't-a-baby-person, for not faking it.

Thanks for the reminder that we did not, ourselves, invent babies, and that there's a whole world out there, just waiting to talk and think about something other than babies.

But mostly, thanks for saying aloud what every parent has thought about his/her own baby:
"the world thinks you're cute, but you're killing me, Smalls."