Tasters of light

It’s an incredible gift to witness Noah’s becoming. A slow unfolding, each day adding new layers of awareness, aliveness.

There is something magical about watching a human become. Tiny hands, learning to grasp for the very first time, clutching onto strands of hair, feeling anything and everything within reach. It’s kind of like watching someone come alive in slow motion. Waking up to the world in stages. Eyesight blooming into color, perceiving distance, recognizing smiles, mirroring laughter. Infant cries turning into babbling and throaty vowel sounds, those first hints at speech.

Lately, Noah has been licking things. It’s a different motion than “mouthing” which he has been doing for some time. Licking is purposeful, driven by curiosity. It’s done with some hesitation and sideways glances at me. “Did you just see me do that?” “Is it supposed to taste like that?” I imagine him thinking, though I’m not sure how babies can think without first having a mastery of language, something I’ve been perplexed by lately.