Baby Yes

Not all little girls like to play with dolls. Some prefer coloring books and markers. Others like riding toys, building blocks, or just doing whatever mommy’s doing.

Back when granddaughter Emerald lived in Michigan, I got to babysit her a good deal, and from early-on she was a coloring person. But there was one brief period when she bonded with a doll – a soft one about 8” tall.

It mattered that this baby was decked out in Emerald’s favorite color, and even her skin was pink. During those days when the two of them were friends, Emerald was 3 years old, and I wondered if she had named her dolly.

“Does your baby have a name?” I said.

Emerald didn’t have to think. “Baby Yes.”

“Her name is Baby Yes?”

“U-huh.”

The explanation was that her doll always said yes. I found that charming, and a fascinating discussion followed.

Our conclusion was that Baby Yes had the right idea. It was good to be positive about life and to embrace opportunities with yeses. It was especially important to say yes to God and the things he wanted us to do. Emerald said she was up for that.

While my grands were here this summer, Baby Yes got lots of attention from granddaughter Lizzie, who also happens to be a very sweet yes-person – and who is definitely a dolly girl.

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At the end of the summer, all 12 children had headed home, and I began reorganizing the well-used toy bins. When I opened the doll container, I found a jumble of undressed, sticky babies with marker-make-up. Dumping them all on the basement floor, I decided to have some grandma-fun.

While their tiny clothes swished in the wash machine, I cleaned up their faces and hands, feeling like I was playing dolls again. Each of these babies has history with our family and bears the name given them by our 3 daughters when they were little.

There’s Jennifer, Baby LaLa, Connie, Allison, Megan, and others. And of course there’s Baby Yes.

As I lined them up for a photo to send to my granddaughters, little Baby Yes stood out from the crowd – all because of the name Emerald had given her. Looking at her, I decided I want to be a yes-person, too, especially when God is the One asking the questions.