Baby Borrowing

Sometimes my littlest sister just grabs my attention all of a sudden, and I realize how wonderful she is.  It's almost a physical feeling that bubbles up inside me.  Some folks would let it out by pinching her fat little cheek, others by squeezing her in a big hug.  I tend to hold my arms out and ask her if she'll be my baby (or my 'Ziggle'- what she calls her baby doll).  If she's feeling like a little silly-pants she'll turn around and take a few steps in the opposite direction, and look over her shoulder to see if I'm gonna' give her a good chase.  Other times, especially if I've just walked in the front door, she'll run to me with her arms up.

That's the best.

Today, she was sitting on the couch with Mom and me when I asked her if she would be my Ziggle.  She smiled and laughed and bounced up and down, but Mom said, "No, she can't be your ziggle; she's mine."  (She was playing along, of course.)

Well, that's true.

So asked my Ziggle if I could borrow her since I didn't have my own babies.  (That strange bubbling-up-inside gives way to wanting my very own passel of 'ziggles.')  She didn't seem to mind, and my mom said borrowing was okay. ;)

So for the next ?? years before I get married and have ziggles of my own, I get to borrow one!  I get to love it, teach it how to behave and obey, play games with it, tickle it until it's pink and gasping with giggles, help it learn to quit shrieking when it wants some of the cheese I'm grating, and on and on...

I don't think I appreciate enough this opportunity to borrow a baby.  My own mother was the youngest of four and had never held a baby until either I was born, or my cousin was (I can't remember...).  By contrast, I feel like I have helped raise at least five little people, so far, to varying degrees depending on my age at the time.  What wonderful experience!  And I get to big-sister and practice 'mothering' children of many different ages and temperaments.  (Okay, not the ones closest to me in the line-up!)  From being the eldest in a large family, I have an idea of what people can be like from newborns up to... 18-years-old, I guess. ;)

One of the most important lessons I'm learning from baby borrowing, is how to fall head-over-heels in love with a baby.  Titus 2 says young women should be loving their husbands and children.  My dad says this is a familial, friendly kind of love.  To me, this says I need to learn how to love children as buddies and wonderful people that I want to be around.  Too often I find myself regarding them in a very responsible way as a governess might, teaching them and keeping them doing what they ought.  While Scripture does call parents to train their children in the way they should go, I see that I am to do this as a mother, not as a 'governess.'

Don't have an in-home baby to borrow?  Many moms would love to have their babies 'borrowed' by responsible older girls while at church, in their homes as mother's helpers, when the 'latest model' has been conceived and morning sickness has set in, and during the busiest times of life such as moving, homeschooling, or rigorous house cleaning.

Baby borrowing will shape you into a capable, well-prepared mother while giving your mom (or other mothers of this first regiment) a sorely needed assist!