Is there anything so charming as baby nakedness? A chubby, little, dimpled bum residing on little, chubby legs or from the front, a little pot bellied tummy on chubby legs are precious. Add big eyes and a little, self satisfied grin and grandmommas melt in mass.
The nakedness idea began on the way home from lunch. Nat’s mother--Oh, did I mention that she came with Nat?--said, “I need to hose her off.” The dogs would have been pleased as punch had we just set her on the ground, but we wanted to spare Nat the 90 pound Catahoula’s beach towel sized tongue. The word “hose” had switched on the light bulb above my head. “This needs to be done outside with the hose--naked,” popped into my head. Her mother agreed. They live in the city and occasions for outside nakedness are rare. Besides, Nat doesn’t mind bucking societal rules, and this was the perfect time and place.
Properly peeled, Nat took the hose. A big grin lit up Her Cuteness’s face as she looked up at her mother and succinctly summed up the situation, “Naked”. Our faces were alight, also. (Though the descriptive “child-like” would be more accurate here since my face leans more toward the descriptive “old“. The only shared characteristic being “fat”.) Here was innocence and delightful fun rolled into one chubby bundle. Docked on the patio, (read converted driveway) we all got down to business. Natty sprayed herself, flung water on us, and drove all of the dogs into hiding.
Have you ever noticed that when water is involved in a child’s play, the grownups feel compelled to provide toys in as great a multitude as possible? If sto-bought toys aren’t available, improvised ones are just dandy. So, there sat Nat, in an under-the-bed storage box with the top ripped off and a crack in the bottom, playing with a Styrofoam cup, a red, plastic cup, and a bright yellow watering can with a white plaster flower glued to its side. Her mother threw in a plastic Dora and Piglet figure. Strange mixture, but we’ll not call attention to the difference of genre’ between Piglet and Dora.
Piglet swam. Dora floated on her back in a puddle along with the dirt, grass and acorn bits who had come to play. Nat poured water from cup to cup, cup to watering can, and vice versa. Then, Dora was playfully dunked into the watering can several times. Piglet escaped water abuse. Nat’s droopy eyelids and swaying body signaled an end to the fun. She was scooped up, diapered, and put down for her nap.
If you love a child, raise your hand. Mommas love their babies no matter that they are approaching 40 and getting the first of many gray hairs to follow. Grandbabies are different. As the nurse placed my daughter’s new born in her arms, she looked at her and said, “You just moved into second place.” That about sums it up.
