Everything Takes Care of Itself

At the moment of fertilization, a single cell is formed with two halves of the requisite genetic information needed to make a human being. That single cell begins to divide into more cells. The daughter cells continue to divide and differentiate into various types of tissue. Organs form. Complete systems take shape. The elaborate task of assembling a baby goes on quietly with out mom or dad really having to do anything.

The whole system is set up so that you don't really have to do much. Just eat and sleep right. Try not to stress out too much and everything is supposed to take care of itself.

Once the baby is out, it's a different story though, right? Well, actually, I'm not so sure. Childhood seems to be a process that takes care of itself too. You just kind of hang back with a sippy cup and a bunch of food and let the kid develop. You can't hasten a child's language acquisition any more than you can speed up the assembly of their nervous system in utero. You can't force them to walk anymore than you can force them to stop kicking mom from the inside prior to birth.

The whole system is designed so that you have to do a lot (change diapers, adjust temperatures, wipe noses, provide love) but once those basic biological needs are met, children walk, grow, learn, dance, and say funny things all on their own. Baby J is a determined, friendly, vivacious little person and I can't say that either my wife or I consciously helped her to develop these traits. I'm not downplaying the importance of parents in a child's life. I'm merely saying that formation of new life has been happening on planet earth for billions of year. It's a refined process and we would be wise to revere it rather than try to reshape it as we see fit.