As Sweet as a Baby's Smile

Is there something you can say that is absolutely genuine and pure? An expresion of human feeling that is thoroughly devoid of ulterior motive and negativy? What show of emotion could be as whole and overwhelming?

A baby's smile. I muse over this subject because of my experience with my little treasure, my 1 year old daughter. Over the course of her little life so far I've been constantly amazed and left nigh breathless with her tiniest discoveries, with her minute to minute triumphs and hardships. Every little thing that she does, her reactions and general demeanor fill me with such happiness that I wonder if anyone ever has felt such bliss. But the one gesture, the one expression that trumps it all - or perhaps the one at the heart of such wonderful a creature - is her smile. A baby's smile. Such a seemingly simple thing, yet one never done justice by the fascimile of photography, as one cannot possibly experience it's sheer magnitude without the buildup, the peek and the ebb, seconds though it might take, as it is this motion, a dance of infantile muscles, that takes one's breath away. There is no single facial expression filled with such unbridled joy at life as that of a baby's smile. No single motion so hopeful and bright.

Last night I visited my daughter as she had gotten four vaccines for her 1-year-&-3-months earlier in the day. She's a brave little thing, hardly a tear shed where other children would weep openly for minutes on end. The moment I walked into the room, as she lay on the bed watching the television, her face lit up upon seeing me. This smile that warms my heart despite the fever brought on by the vaccines and the pain in her limbs no deterrent to the happiness I can bring to her life, the happiness that so characterizes this child. She makes me feel like, even if all else is lost to me and all my hopes and dreams are laid low, I can be useful by lighting up that face with my love.

A baby's smile. Nothing's sweeter than a baby's smile.