When a baby laughed at the post office

For those mothers out there who struggle to press through often trying days, I hope you know the power you hold and the great work you are performing if you have chosen motherhood as your predominant career.

For those mothers out there who struggle to press through often trying days, I hope you know the power you hold and the great work you are performing if you have chosen motherhood as your predominant career.

Yesterday I walked into the post office to discover the usual long line familiar to many of us on Mondays during lunchtime. But what was not so familiar were the expressions on many of the faces as patrons waited more patiently than usual.

Glancing up from something that captured their attention I was greeted by more smiles; more eyes that seemed open to the world - a feeling that the weight of the world was a little lighter, at least for those within the reach of a certain sound.

What changed everything was the resonance of a baby's joyous laugh. Near the middle of the line a young mother had set her infant carrier on the ground to rest her arms. As she looked at her tiny baby the child began to laugh uncontrollably each time their eyes connected.

A baby's laugh is like magic. I am sure many of you remember the first time you experienced such a pure sound of unadulterated joy.

So here, in this would-be routine moment, a group of task-runners like myself were treated to something enchanting and special. We were reminded that the bills in our hands or the beckoning call of calendar items and cell phones mean little. What really matters is often obscured by noisy insignificance.

For those mothers out there who struggle to press through often trying days, I hope you know the power you hold and the great work you are performing.

I do not know who the young mother was kneeling next to her baby in Prescott Valley yesterday, but I wish the best for her and her young family, and I thank her for sparking a moment of joy that reminded me of things eternal and the amazing work of motherhood.


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