Dear Reader,

I’m no expert on taking care of babies… not by a long shot. Upon hearing that I had recently changed a diaper, my son- in-law comically responded, “3 kids, 7 grandchildren, 1 diaper 👏👏👏👏👏👏 Well done!!!” When our three daughters were born and raised some time ago, my wife Mary shouldered the lion’s share of the day-to-day childcare responsibilities as I worked outside the house to financially support our family.

Today we have grandchildren and recently with the last granddaughter born in March, I’ve jumped into the fray after basically skipping a generation. No, I’m not retired but I have things a little more under control these days as an entrepreneur than when I was in the corporate rat race.

As I take a more hands on approach to supporting the everyday subsistence of a baby, I am reminded of the little things that bring contentment. Just in feeding my granddaughter a bottle, I find the simple things like a bottle of warm milk, a shoulder to snuggle into, and the sound of a loved one singing goes a long way.

While each day little Maddie’s world gets a little bit bigger and her needs grow in conjunction with this expansion, there’s something to be said for these basic elements embedded into the process of a
good bottle feeding. In many ways, these basic steps that fulfill the needs of an infant are not entirely unrelated to what can fulfill ours. After all there’s nothing like a good meal, a warm hug, and the
sound of song from loved ones.

PATRICK J. WOOD
Publisher
Author of “Dear Reader” and “Tapestry of Love and Loss”