Culture For The Non-Cultured

OK, so the title of this post is pretty awful.  Kids are great, of course — how could you not love ‘em? 

So cute & innocent.

In fact, I once read that babies’ proportions have evolved so that adults cannot resist the urge to care for them: babies have big heads in relation to their bodies, big eyes in relation to their heads, and, oh, that sweet baby smell (well, um, sometimes)!

However, it’s scenes like this that make me think parenthood is a little like living under a tyrant:

I was on the E subway today, on my way from Manhattan into Queens.   Across the way was a family: 2 little girls, a Mom, a Dad.  One of the little girls — maybe 7 years old or so — kept on putting her feet in Mom’s lap, for her Mom to rub.

The girl would put a foot up on her Mom’s lap.  Mom would rub it.  Girl would switch feet. Rub.  Switch feet. 

And then Mom began to yawn continuously.

Switch.  Rub.  Yawn.  Switch.  Rub. Yawn.  Switch.  Rub. Yawn. 

And, of course, this scene rates a big ZERO on the spectrum of disgusting that that Mom has probably done for her daughter — over and over and over again.

But, of course, it’s all probably worth it for the cute ‘n innocent little task-masters.  Right?