Little Sisters

Today Baby Leopard and I went to visit The Little Sisters so that the people who knew me during my pregnancy could meet the baby on the outside.

One nun greeted him, correctly guessed his age, and said to him in a sort of baby-talk, "Who are you?" Someone nearby said, Maybe he'll be a priest. The priest nearby said, Maybe a bishop. The nun spoke again to Baby Leopard, "Are you the pope?"

I love this, not because he's going to be the pope, but rather because it treats him as so much more than a baby--he is a nascent person, a person we don't know yet, but whose meaning and purpose is already inscribed in him. What a wonderful thing to keep in mind as I take care of this mostly helpless baby--"Who are you?" There's a person there, even though we can't see it yet. It's a very hopeful perspective.

Also, some of the elderly poor (that's who live at this home) gave him money--one woman gave him a dollar; another gave him five (she pulled it out of a pack of tissues where she'd tucked it away). Their generosity is quite humbling. (I've found more than once that the poorest among us are the most generous and the most welcoming into their community.)