Dr. Demon Baby

My kids know when I am about to lose it. I start sighing. Loudly. I tend to lose it at the end of the day . . . usually on the occasions when I discover a MESS of epic proportions, which I now have to deal with after many hours of writing and assorted stress.

Demon Baby now predicates messes with coming in to me and saying the following:

"Mom . . . nothing broke. But . . . [FILL IN "I spilled an entire half-gallon of orange juice on the floor" or "I let the senile dog into the family room and he peed in there," or "I got creative with my food again" or "You might not want to look at the couch"]."

Then I usually sigh and slap my pen down on my desk.

Then, lately, he usually pats my arm and says, very slowly and patronizingly, "Now Mom, stop freaking out and CALM DOWN [aside, spoken as if I am a jumper on top of the George Washington Bridge] . . . you don't want your blood pressure to go up now, do you?"

And usually . . . that's enough for me to remember that life is too short to care about messes.

Laugh, Yawn, Be

I noticed something about Demon Baby this morning as he curled in my lap. He snuggled against me, curled his toes, stretched and yawned. Not a yawn like an adult, when we try to stifle it lest we appear bored or rude. No, this was a full-on Baby Yawn, with rubbing of eyes and stretching. He looked adorable.

But then I realized he laughs with the same abandon. Doesn't care who see, or how raucous he gets. He claps his hands, sometimes does this flapping thing with his arms. He bends over, clutches his tummy and LAUGHS.

There's that old adage Dance as if no one is watching. I pride myself on dancing that way. I'm always first one out on the floor at a wedding. And it's not that I think I'm a candidate for "So You Think You Can Dance." It's that life is short. Dance when you want to dance. But it took me a while to learn that lesson.

And Demon Baby already knows this. Funny, how we come out of the womb with wisdom and then LOSE it as we become aware of the approval or disapproval of others. He yawns and laughs and cries and screams as he sees fit, without care that's it's impolite or in church, or noisy or messy or any of it.

Laugh. Yawn. Be.

I think Demon Baby is onto something.