Hand sanitizer has become my new best friend when we take the subway. Sanitizing after going through the turnstiles, when I get on the train and again when I get off. I am living in fear of the day when Noah is no longer confined to his stroller or Ergo Baby Carrier and is free to touch everything. On that day, sanitizer will become Noah's best friend too (mind you, I have already found him sucking on the tires of his stroller, so he has effectively sucked on the floor of the subway, and he is yet to display signs of golden staph, meningococcal, meningitis, or other horrible venereal diseases that make a mother's nightmares).
But, alas I digress.
You get the picture, riding the subway, whilst convenient, is not a pleasant experience. There is also an unwritten law, that you don't make eye contact with other patrons of the subway. At least not after the fleeting glance you cast around when first boarding, to make sure you are not going to regret your seating choice after you sit down. This unwritten law suits everyone just fine. Everyone that is, except Noah.
Noah, it turns out, is an exceptionally sociable child. I had thought all babies where as sociable and inquisitive as Noah, but other mothers assure me that Noah is "the most social baby", "the biggest flirt".
I can't deny it. Noah is happiest when he is smiling at someone, when they smile back and when he is surrounded by people. He has an ability to make strangers stop in the street and comment on his "big smile" and his "beautiful eyes". From the gay men in Chelsea, to the Chinese grandmas in the Lower East Side, Noah attracts a lot of attention.
This is why the subway is such a perplexing place for Noah. He has to pull out all his tricks to get a smile from a stranger, even though he is surrounded by them in such close proximity. First of all he tries to catch someone's eye. If that proves difficult, a little coo will follow. Then a small sheepish smile, and maybe a little giggle. If that still fails to gain the desired effect, he may wave, or clap, or both. His little legs may pump in excitement, and more cooing and giggling will follow. It is pretty much impossible for the poor subway patrons to keep their eyes downcast and keep to themselves. I have realised it is next to impossible to ignore Noah and not find yourself smiling in response. Few passengers have escaped his charms once he sets his sights on them.
Quite frequently, when Noah is in the Ergo Carrier and strapped to my chest, he will alternate charming the people sitting on either side of us. To the people behind us, it must look like a spectator at a tennis match. But Noah is skillfully charming the poor and unsuspecting patrons we chose to sit between.
Then yesterday on the subway, Noah stepped up his game a notch. After 15 minutes, most of the passengers around us were wearing smiles and having the occasional giggle, and no-one was minding the "no eye contact" law of the subway.
When we sat down on the F Train, placed between 2 young woman, it all appeared as an ordinary ride. Noah worked at getting smiles from the 2 woman. Both were easy targets, and Noah was quickly satisfied by both of them smiling back quickly and telling him how cute he was. The when one of them left, Noah found a new target.
A young boy, about 7 years old was sitting on the seats perpendicular to us. Within seconds Noah had initiated a game of peek-a-boo, hiding his eyes in my chest before looking up with a giant grin on his face. The little boy caught on amazingly quickly and was soon, calling out "peek-a-boo" everytime Noah looked up. Soon they were alternating who was hiding, and Noah was having frequent giggling outbursts, legs pumping and arms waving.
By the next stop, several other passengers were transfixed by this game, unknowingly smiling at the 2 boys playing. By the time we got off, all 15 passengers were looking from Noah to the little boy and smiling.
When we were out on the platform, I looked back into the carriage. and all had returned to normal - no smiles, no eye contact, just another carriage on the New York subway. But for a few minutes, Noah made those people smile and forget the laws of subway travel, and it was a nice few minutes for all of us.
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