Cute Boy

I never get sick of being told my child is cute.  Never.  And while I'll admit that I have a biased opinion of him, I think it's safe to say that I'm not simply being humored on the subject.

I'm not one of those parents that's going to pretend I wasn't at all concerned about my un-born child's appearance; "Oh, I just want him to be healthy!"  I call bullshit on those parents.  Yes, we want our babies to be healthy, obviously, but we don't only want them to be healthy.  We also want them to be good looking.  When they come out cute we sigh in relief, "Thank god I got a cute one."  And if they're not... ?

I mean, not every kid is cute, let's be honest.  Some of them are just plain goofy looking.  Sometimes that can be it's own kind of cuteness... but typically it's just unfortunate.  And parents tend to be blind to it, or pretend to be blind to it.  I'm not sure if I could lie to myself if my child hadn't been blessed with good features.  I'm typically too blunt for that.  I think, like everyone else, I'd just focus on the feature that was the best.  We all do that when we're faced with a not so adorable youngster.  We point out the eyes... only.  Or we say they're so sweet, or we comment on their size, but we avoid actually lying by saying they're cute, or pretty, or handsome.  I've paid attention.  I've listened.  Strangers don't randomly approach you, gushing over your child...

I get stopped all the time.  We've always had people come up to us and coo over Jude.  And not just girls, who do seem more disposed to do so over babies and small children, but all ages, all types, even other mothers, with kids in tow... which I always find awkward because I'm not a 'trade a compliment for a compliment' kind of person.  I compliment when I mean it.  It means nothing if you do it out of obligation.  So when other mothers come up to fawn over Jude I just smile and say thank you, and fight the awkwardness of the moment.

What is the point of this post?  I'm not entirely sure myself.  My kid is cute.  I take no active credit for this fact.  I just brewed him for nine months, the pick of the genes was a roll of the die.  Aaron and I are decent looking folks, but even drop dead gorgeous people can produce ugly off spring.  Ugly people can make cute babies too, so I disregard that aspect.  It's genetic gambling, and we made out pretty well, mostly to Jude's own benefit.