Daily Share 79 (brat) midsized read
My kid is one of those, I'm realizing. I have accidentally made her incapable of being alone in a room or playpen without screaming her lil face off. I've gotta be close, if not holding her. She does eventually calm down but dude it takes forever. I gotta encourage more self soothing behaviors... which just means I have to leave her alone. But bro. That is so hard. I'm literally biologically built to feel stress when she cries, even if it's a fake ass "give me attention" cry. So unfair. That's gonna have to be a focus in my parenting, though. She's gotta be able to do it.
When she does start playing by herself and babbling and stuff it's amazing to see though. I love her so much. She's full of curiosity and is always observing and trying new things. Her grandma bought her this enormous stuffed caterpillar that has buttons to make musical notes and play a couple songs, and she loves that thing. Pressing buttons is her jam. It's so fun how interested she is at such a young age. Babies are unbelievable. You can see understanding blossoming within her. She understands language even though she can't really use it. She understands cause and effect. When we give her something that's too tough for her to do, she finds other ways to do it; like when it's too hard for her to open a door on her ball ramp box to get a ball, she'll pick up the box or reach into the hole the ball originally fell into. If she can't reach something from one spot, she'll come at it from another angle.
It's just human stuff. But she's only been a human for a year. I'm so proud. Lol.
Speaking of human stuff - my families, both childhood and chosen, are still going through some really rough times. This past week has been particularly difficult. There's plenty I could say on that, but I'd rather say that throughout all of this, the thing that has struck me the most is how important community and communication are. I am so grateful that my families have always been open and eager to communicate. We don't lie to each other. We don't hide things. We work together even when we're angry or uncomfortable. I am so, so blessed.
Seek people who are earnest and honest. Seek people who recognize that the truth and full understanding is more important than being polite. Seek people who will talk to you with respect even when they disagree with you, and people who are willing to meet you in the middle to find the best way forward for everyone. That has been the most important part of this week for me. My family has worked so hard to keep each other in the know and everyone's needs in consideration as the tough situation we're in has developed. If that wasn't the kind of relationship we all had, this week would have been unspeakably worse.