Baby Meltdown!

As I write this, Baby S is on an all-out meltdown, shouting her head off, saying over and over again, “No dede! No mommy! No water!” Her mother, my daughter E, is patiently dealing with her while my son K and I listen quietly from the other room.

I don’t know what set her off, but there she is, screaming at the top of her lungs. And there’s her mom, sitting quietly by her side, making sure Baby S doesn’t hurt herself. There’s nothing E can do really, except wait for this raging fever to be over.

And then I wonder, maybe Baby S has something going on here. I mean, don’t you feel sometimes the need to scream and shout?! You’re wearing a frilly white dress and open-toed sandals, and it rains. You’re all set for an interview, and at the last minute, it gets cancelled. You’re in the middle of writing a story, and your editor is texting you that she needs it right now, and the power goes out! I could just scream!

Unlike Baby S, however, I have my no-fail set of coping devices, which doesn’t involve much screaming and shouting. Nah, it involves lots of chocolate-eating, beer-drinking, and TV-surfing. It works all the time. Unfortunately, I can’t pass a bottle to Baby S (Unless it's milk), nor can I give her a bar of chocolate (Her mom would kill me). We can watch TV, sure, but she’s still running around, screaming her head off. Maybe I should just run around with her? See how that goes?