The Small Steps that Change Mankind
The 50 year anniversary of the first man landing on the moon is upon us. This was a monumental, America changing, and even world changing accomplishment. Because of this, it’s not surprising that Americans collectively pause to look back at the day man literally shot for the moon and hit its mark.
We all know the famous first line from the moon, “that’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” Well, when having your first child the opposite is true. To mankind, it’s just another very small human being added to the billions. To you as a parent though, it’s a world changing occurrence of enormous proportions.
Baby Boomers and even non-Boomers are nostalgic for 1969 and the moon landing (or at least all the news stories and ads co-opting the moment lead me to believe so). This makes sense both because half a century creates ample distance for time to polish select memories, and because the late 60s were memorable for those who lived them with many other social moonshots taking place in that era.
It’s only the eight year anniversary of our “giant leap” into parenthood, but time has already been kind to the memory. Five kids in I can sign off on the idea that the first experience is the one most fraught with nostalgia.
Like many, our first was the first for so many things in parenting but also in humility. Somewhere in the fog of 72 hours of sleep deprivation a matter of days after he was born, we were in the emergency room concerned there was something wrong with our newborn.
The doctor was very kind, checked over the baby, and reassured us that everything was fine. The humility set in when the discharge paperwork showed the reason for visit/diagnosis: crying. We took a handful of days old baby to the ER -- because he was fussy.
Houston we have a problem...er, disregard.
And that’s the poignancy of baby nostalgia. You look back to see the growth of the baby, but also end up seeing the growth of yourself as a parent.
Having a baby isn’t rocket science, it likely won’t make national news, and very few companies are going to make commemorative 50th anniversary beer in celebration of it. But if you’re blessed with the opportunity to get to look back 50 years, or even just eight, you’ll get to see how that one small step on earth rocked your world. And created an entirely new one.