David had just turned twenty, and was too young not only to start a family, but even to think about it. He didn’t have a girlfriend, but he had some preconceptions about children. That they were dirty, that they were naughty for no reason, crying and screaming, asking for what they wanted. How much spending they require, how much attention and love. That’s why David thought they were filthy. On top of everything else, they also wear diapers that adults have to change.
One Saturday my sister called David, begging him to help her with her nephew. She had an urgent doctor’s appointment, her husband was at work, and her mother was at the cottage. Only her brother could help. David refused for a long time, being as mean as the kids, but reluctantly agreed.
My niece was only six months old, but he was a surprisingly quiet baby. David
was afraid to approach him, to take him in his arms, but when he did take him, he was no longer able to let him go, he was so curious. Without his sister, he strolled through the rooms with the baby, singing to him a lullaby and making him smile by lightly touching the tiny nose with his index finger. The baby was as delighted with his uncle as he was with him.
It was only a day, and David realized that he adored his nephew. After his sister gave birth, he did not want to visit him, he called the baby “an alien,” but now he asked to visit him and wanted to stay at his sister’s house all day long. He even overtook my mother in the number of days he spent with my nephew.
So maybe David’s not so hopeless. One day he will meet the right person and babysit his child the same way.
