3. Baby Laughter

I love the sound of a baby laughing.  It is by far the sweetest sound I've ever heard.  I'm especially fond of my son's laughter, not just for the obvious reason that he is my son, but because he has a big jolly belly laugh.  It fits him now that he is 14 months old, but to hear that big of a laugh come out of a 4 month old was shocking yet delightful the first time!  I couldn't help but laugh also!

By contrast, the most horrible sound I've ever heard is a baby crying.  Any baby really, but of course to hear my son cry is at best maddening and at worst heart-wrenching.  When I heard his first cries of life and should have been comforted to know that his lungs were strong and he was healthy, all I wanted to do was hold my new baby close and calm his cries (thankfully Daddy was able to do this while I was being reassembled).  Even now when he cries out in his sleep at night it takes everything inside me to stop, wait, and listen to hear if he really needs Mommy or Daddy to come or if he can work it out and get back to sleep on his own.  

Sometimes I wish there could be only laughter and never tears.  

But if there were no tears, would I start to take the laughter for granted?  I think I might.  It's like having a cup of coffee with a slice of chocolate cake: the bitterness of the coffee makes the cake that much sweeter (I know, bad analogy during Lent, right?).  There needs to be tears from time to time: a boo boo here, a bad dream there, even the occasional mini-tantrum when Daddy is takes away the remote or Mommy has hidden all of the binkies.  These times are opportunities to give extra hugs and kisses, and perhaps a well-placed zerbert can bring the laughter right back.

So I am thankful for my baby's laughter, and also thankful for the tears: they make an already sweet sound that much sweeter!