Oh, the faces you’ll grope!

My daughter’s almost six months old now, and she’s becoming much more engaged with the world around her. She can lay on her back with a rattle or a toy in her hands for minutes on end, exploring it with quiet fascination.

She’s much the same way with faces, and especially with the faces she knows. When she’s feeding or she’s fussy, I can always calm her down by leaning in close and letting her run her hands along my face.

And I don’t mean to get schmaltzy or emotional, but it really is an amazing feeling. Nothing pulls you out of the mindless minutiae of the day, making you feel vital and insignificant all at once, like the rapt attention of a baby’s wide eyes as her tiny little fingers explore her father’s face.

I tell you, the four or five seconds that moment lasts before she digs her razor-sharp nails into you and tries to rip indiscriminate chunks out of your head? It’s really what life is all about.

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