Another lunch-time get-together with mums and babies from the post-natal group today, in Redhill. Went on the bus again, which Jessica doesn’t seem to mind – she just quietly looks around herself, sometimes sticks her tongue out in a pensive fashion, occasionally falls asleep. She always gets an appreciating look from at least one lady of a certain age. Which leads me to something I’ve been meaning to say before: when we’re out and about in shops, at bus stops or on the train, Jessica will happily look at people and very often single someone out for a friendly and very deliberate stare. She looks them straight in the eye with a big smile on her face. Often her ‘victim’ isn’t sure of where to look but Jessica’s keen interest usually wins them over – even quite stern-looking people have cracked a smile…! There’s a certain lovely innocence about it, of course: Jessica will smile delightedly at women and men of all ages and demographic groups, seemingly without discrimination. Smiling at some strangers can sometimes land you in trouble in the grown-up world, of course, but she’s always safe with one of us and it’s nice to see her friendliness being so infectious.
Gabriella