Well, having a wee babe has made life all together much more interesting. There are parts of your life that you end up letting go of, and even friends you may not see very often, if at all. Children make life much more complicated and a less spontaneous in the traditional ways... planning and organizing become less of a "I'm working on it" and more of a "can't live sanely with out it". Trips to the grocery store are epic journeys and errands are done in pairs, with stops home or to friends houses (those with other small children) to change a poopy diaper or to feed a hungry, grumpy child. Spontaneity is more about bodily functions finding a trajectory for your clothing, your hair or someone's couch or nice bedspread.
With all that said, I find that perfect strangers are willing to come up and say something nice to me. All because of the cute, wiggly, smiley little bundle of beans you are carrying in your arms. Where I was often ignored in a grocery store line, cash register clerks will smile and offer to help carry out groceries to my car. People standing next to me in line will start up a conversation and help entertain my squirmy boy. At the airport, during the post-Christmas/pre-New Years hub-bub, both the ticketing agents and the security guards were nice and smiled at us!
Even my husband, John, has remarked how everyone talks to him now. He recently took little Xander to the Independence Brewery 1st of the month Open House here in Austin, TX. He came home with stories of random people, couples, Dads and single ladies all starting conversations with him. Whereas before, he was mostly ignored (being heinously miss grouped in the catagory "single dude looking to get trashed and hook up). It's as if Xander is a badge that tells everyone, "Yes, I'm normal and not at all creepy".
A kid, for better or worse, is definitely a conversation starter...
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