A smile is a wonderful thing. A smile from the right person can put you in a good mood for a big chunk of a day. Back in the mists of time, when I was single, a smile from a girl could last a whole day.
But smiles are tricksy. Like hairy toed hobbits hiding magical rings. A smile can be so many things, mean so many things. A smile from an adult is a complicated thing. It may be happy, of course, but it could contain regret, it could be rueful, it could be patronising, pitying or prying.
My own smile is stereotypical British, all overbite and crossover. I hate it. I had orthodontic work when I was younger, fixed braces and then a retainer. The retainer gave me a quite spectacular lisp. I decided that I valued my diction above aesthetics and wore the retainer sparingly. One of my life’s regrets.
If anyone’s got a spare £6,000 kicking around and fancies letting me use it to get braces again, drop me a line. I promise I’ll wear the retainer this time.
Luckily for me, Cam doesn’t seem to hate my smile. Most mornings, before I head to work, I smile at The Creature and The Creature smiles back. A big, beaming, gum-filled grin. Like I said, a smile from the right person can put you in a good mood.
Baby smiles are like the pure, uncut, 100% Colombian version of the smile. They are pure joy and innocence. They spread across their tiny faces, starting at the mouth, spreading into the wrinkled nose before finishing their journey at the eyes. They are reciprocal and self perpetuating.
The first time I saw Cam smile I was almost overcome with excitement, it was beautiful, and so markedly different to the trapped wind induced grimaces which had come before it (the difference was the eyes) that I found myself welling up. Thankfully, on that occasion, he didn’t decide to copy what I was doing.
What’s been making you smile today? Share your thoughts in my comment receptacle and spread a little joy.
By the way, consider yourself lucky I haven’t included a link to that awful song “Smile” by the Supernaturals here. I’ve gone for a picture of a smiley baby instead.
