It sounds more dramatic than it really is, but this was one of those days that I think exemplify the strange duality of life with a two year old. As Beautiful Wife is away, and nanny J. is off for the weekend I got to see the entire arc of the day, without interruption. Dear Alex started my day as usual with the 7am warning cry, where she simply wakes up screaming - then falls promptly back to sleep, leaving you a little dazed. I got up briefly, listened carefully for any further activity, and hearing nothing, chose to go back to sleep with the certain knowledge that it would not be for long. At 8 or 8:30 Dear Alex was up in full force - screaming "diaper, diaper!, poooopie diaperrrr"! That's the cry you really can't ignore. So, good morning my beautiful daughter - forgive me if I carry you at arms length to the changing table, but oh my, you are stinky. There is a certain delight in this, of course, because it's something that's easily fixed, and it certainly fosters a connection. There - I made that better, and got a great hug and wiped your butt and your sleepy-sweaty forehead to get those sleep-matted curls of hair off your face. Daddy made coffee, and a cup of milk, and the day got off to a slow start. That's something I've seen more of recently, this lazy morning thing with Dear Alex. She definitely did not want to do anything in particular, but wandered around the apartment in her PJs, flopping on the floor or furniture, usually with a book or two and her new "knuffle bunny" in the other.
We had breakfast, and read a lot of books and Dear Alex finally picked up some momentum - we got dressed, and finally her energy level soared. I was in a mood to clean - Dear Alex had a different agenda - wanton destruction. She went through the living room like a tornado, emptying boxes, pulling out books, and removing all of the cushions from the furniture. For a short while, I tried to keep up, picking up after the whirlwind - but I gave up, interested in seeing how it would play out. Awesome. Stuff everywhere. It seemed to satisfy her enough that she could simply throw herself down on the floor without any fear of injury, as there were cushions everywhere. (see pix above - I only wish I'd taken some wider shots of the devastation) This went on for a while, and I'd finally had enough - no anger, just a sure knowledge that it had to stop before someone (Dear Alex) got hurt. Without asking I chased her down, got her dressed to go out to howls of "no no noooooooo", and we went outside - no stroller, no diaper bag, no hassles, just a change of scene. It was great - Dear Alex instantly became the sweetest and cutest little girl in the world. We went to "the trainshow, the trainshow" the bookstore, and had a great time getting daddy coffee and Dear Alex a cup of milk. Today, we love Starbucks even more. We stopped at Ray Bari pizza for lunch (I love living in the city) By the time we got home, I'd completely forgotten about the mess that was waiting for me to clean... Dear Alex went down for her nap at 2:30, and the mess was gone by 3:00.
Note to self: It's very good to have a place for things, and to know where to put them.
No comments:
Post a Comment