Little Miss Sensitive

Today BB gave me more evidence (not that I needed it) that she is just as sensitive as her brother, just as likely to be noofy about a certain place or particular situation. By 9:30, we'd already had a bit of a challenging morning. This quarter, thanks to a change in S's schedule, I have to drop of BJ at preschool on Thursday mornings, which means BB has to tag along. S is usually the one to drop off BJ, while I often pick him up in the afternoon.

I'd worried that it might be difficult to get BJ settled while also having BB there, so I'd anticipated a challenge. Surprise -- instead of BJ not wanting us to go and leave him there, he was totally fine; it was BB who didn't want to leave! BJ had started playing with nifty vinyl animals, setting up a play zoo, and BB wanted nothing more than to hang out and arrange the play dinosaurs next door. BJ was even being flexible and not complaining about the fact that one would not find dinosaurs at the zoo (he's apt to make this observation).

We hung out a bit, but then we had to get going because we had a playdate scheduled with C, BB's best buddy. Usually we have a great time with C. She's a totally sweet little girl and pretty much the only peer that BB sees on a regular basis. The girls are only about a month apart in age.

On the way to C's house, BB started making noises that she wasn't happy about going there. She said she wanted to just go home. Uh-oh, I thought. "Are you sure?" I asked. She vacillated. Then, as we drove, she stopped complaining and instead started asking about C's 9 month old brother O. (Side story: BJ has been playing matchmaker recently. He's decided he will marry M, a girl who attends his preschool. He's also decided to arrange BB's prospects. He told her, with an air of divine revelation, that she could marry O! BB's reply: she really wants to marry C!) BB was upset because she'd forgotten to bring a rattle for O to play with. I assured her that he has his own age-appropriate toys at his house, and she was greatly relieved.

We got to their house, and all was well, but we hadn't been there 15 minutes before BB came wailing to me: "I want to go hooooooome!" Nothing would dissuade her, not even the idea of playing with C's amazing new dollhouse. So we headed home. I was very disappointed, mostly because I'd really looked forward to hanging out with C's mom A (whose company I really enjoy) and also because I think it's very important for BB to have some time playing with kids other than her brother. But nothing doing, not today.

When we arrived home, BB immediately plunged into some solo play, driving toy cars all around the rug. Just delighted to be in her own space with her own stuff. I think I'd neglected to realize the effect on her of all the craziness of the holidays -- plus having BJ around all the time, with preschool being closed. Tuesday was his first day back, and we spent that time running family errands -- I did mine and S took her along for his, then we met up for lunch at Sweet Tomatoes. A very nice day, but not exactly relaxing. For the past two weeks, she hadn't had a lot of unstructured solo time at home, where she usually gets some at least twice a week. Today would have been her first opportunity. Apparently, she needed it more than I realized, enough to demand it.

Either that or she had turned into Little Miss Sensitive because an earthquake was on the way! A 4.1 at 10:09 this morning. Very shortly after we got home from C's house. Hmmm. They say pets can sense earthquakes when they are coming. If that's true, I wouldn't be surprised if a 2 year old was tuned in to the same thing. After all, dogs are supposed to be as smart as a 2 year old child! (Though I'd put my own 2 year olds up against a canine any day, no matter what the science says.) Actually, when it hit BB didn't even seem to notice it. She was too deeply involved with playing with her bristle blocks. I felt it and had that typical instant acceleration of my heartbeat. Took me a while to calm down. In fact, more than 2 hours later now, I'm still a little shook up.

I don't think I'll ever get used to earthquakes. But I have learned to suppress my anxiety about them. Because that's what you do when you're a parent -- you act in the best interest of your kids, and it would not be in their best interest to have me freaking out in total fear because of a rumble that might seem like nothing more than a truck going by. In truth, I don't have to look far to see where both my kids might have gotten their sensitivities (because BJ is just as prone to it as BB, if not more so). I'm Mrs. Sensitive, myself. As my mother would say, "Crows don't raise canaries." Though we may try at times..... because that, too, is part of being a parent. Wanting your kids to turn out better than you did, to be able to sing when all you can manage is a squawk.