Babies Can Be Fun (You Know, in Between the Poopie Diapers)

Now I know what you're thinking. "Yes, but Peter, the poop! The poop gets all over everything, and it stinks, and there's diapers and food and sometimes screaming."

And all of that is true. I have always wondered what makes people have babies. And after spending the first few weeks with Zoe, I wondered what made them have more. Because let's face it: she could be awful. Loud, inconsolable, cranky, and with a mean shotgun diarrhea that had to be seen to be believed.

Also, I've done a lot of work with teenagers. I knew that small children could be fun, since they like doing anything you do, but teenagers have got to be the most annoying single body of people on the planet. Sure, they can be fun, too, but only if you can get on their good side. Otherwise they're just self-absorbed, know-it-all zombie clones with bad hair and an inability to think that really ought to leave modern science stunned. It's not like that should be shocking. We've all been there, too.

So caught between the screaming infant and a fate I knew lurked literally just over the horizon, I wondered when the fun would start.

But then she started smiling at me, and all the pain and knots that had been building in my muscles from the stress just melted immediately. Then she started laughing, and it is the most infectious laugh I have ever encountered. When she laughs it makes me laugh, and we just sit and laugh together and have a good ol' time. For instance, right now she's lying in her crib gurgling, cooing, and squealing to herself, and it's a riot.

I know eventually she'll hate me and think I'm the dumbest person on the planet, but for now we get to have at least a little bit of fun.