Addison. For her outstanding dramatic portrayal of a baby in distress.
My daughter is, perhaps, the most dramatic child I have ever encountered. Now, I know that babies throw fits. But Addison? She THROWS FITS! Flailing. Logrolling across the floor. Shrieking. Sitting up. Changing direction. Continued logrolling. More shrieking. Weeping. Gnashing of teeth.
All of this used to concern me. Lately, however, I have begun to just sit back and enjoy the show because, truth be told, it's wildly entertaining. Does this make me a bad mother? I think not. I think that for now this is all I can do. Addison is too little to understand timeouts. If I try to sit her in one spot she merely looks at me in wonder of what could possess me to wrestle her writhing torso across the room, and then logrolls back to her original tantrum launch area. She's too little to understand spanking. It only makes her cry harder because now she's tired and in pain. She doesn't respond to hugs or kisses or comforting words. So, my only option is to let her cry it out. At some point, she'll calm down just enough to let me pick her up and give her a pacifier and her favorite pink bunny. I can't tell you how I know when this point comes. I just do. Then I can pick her up and she'll lay her sweaty, red little cheek on my shoulder and sigh because sometimes a girl just needs to get it out.
I can't blame her, really. She never really had a chance. She's female. And she's my kid. My mom is constantly reminding me of the fits that I once threw, vividly describing the clunking sound of my bony frame hitting the wooden kitchen floor as the bellows began to rise from deep within me. Did I really expect my daughter to be any different? Not really. Because, like me, while Addison throws one heck of a fit, she also can throw one heck of a giggle-fest. And I love that about her. I love that she is sensitive and intense. I love that when she gets mad, she gets MAD. And when she's happy, she's gleeful.
So, here's to Addison, my little girl, aspiring diva and drama-queen extaordinaire.
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