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Being Chirpy

There was an unhappy baby in the flight who went quiet shortly after the plane took off. Once we landed the baby got back to being noisy but now in a happy, chirpy way. She was propagating the good cheer with her trills, giggles, coos and gurgles. 

A lot of us turned back to smile at her. The baby had truly brightened being stuck in a full flight for many long hours. Sadly the mother did not view the public attention on her child too kindly. She started to admonish her to stop her racket and behave because people were staring at her. 

I could attest to the fact that no one there looked at that baby with any malice - we were all smiling and enjoying her good cheer. I made sure not to turn toward her once I heard the mother. Others did much the same - we did not want the poor baby scolded. She was too young to even understand what she was being told or what she had done wrong - she was just expressing happiness.

The event made me sad for the child - there is never a reason to kill the spirit of a person so young. When J was this age she could be quite noisy and loved attention from everyone. People noticed her and engaged her - and that formed a virtuous cycle. She saw it as a reward for being friendly, happy and outgoing. It never crossed my mind that my chirpy baby was offensive to some stranger who had seen her only for a few minutes. 

Earlier in the plane a little one passing by my seat smiled and waved at me showing off her cute water bottle. She loved that I responded positively to her overture and admired her water bottle. The parents smiled at the interaction, did not chide her for "bothering" a stranger. I wish all babies could be afforded the same courtesy and respect for being wonderfully themselves,

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