There's No Balm in Gilead

Sir Isaac Newton may have died a bachelor, but his third law of motion, "For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction", could easily apply to raising a girl. The joy Charlotte expresses when we pull up to the library is equal to the despair she displays when we tell her it's time to leave. Both actions involve a high intensity of volume and the frantic waving of body parts, but with opposite intentions.

Parenting isn't always a party.

A few nights ago Charlotte wasn't happy, and she wanted to remain unhappy. Char would demand to see the Care Bears on the computer, and as soon as their heart shaped bellies appeared she'd yell, "I no want that!" She'd then tearfully ask for milk, and when the sippy cup arrived, she'd sob that she wanted water. Throwing blocks as well as tantrums, Charlotte was overtired, frustrated, and frustrating.

While Mom was trying to soothe her in our bedroom, I heard Char bawl, "I no want that! I want that!"

"What do you want, honey?"

"That! That! That!" 

I peeked my head in to see the two of them sitting in the middle of our bed. Rejected books were scattered about the floor. 

Daphne repeated, "What do you want, honey?"

"Thaaat!" Char's nose was pointed to the ceiling while her finger was pointed inside the children's book in mom's lap.

"This car? You want the blue car? Oh, I'm sorry, but we don't have a car like that."

I caught the book before it hit the ground, and I looked at the cartoon of a blue car. A light bulb lit above my head, "Give me a minute." I turned my back on Charlotte's sobs, and I jogged downstairs to our garage.

When I visited my mother's storage unit this past summer, for reasons unknown to me at the time, I saved this old toy car from going into the trash can. Its paint was chipped and crudely striped by a previous child owner, BUT the body's shape looked just like the book's drawing. It would be as if the cartoon had come to life.

Feeling pretty proud of myself, I rushed upstairs. But would Charlotte buy it? Could I be the hero?

In a word, no.

As I handed the car to Charlotte I said, "Look! Here's a blue car. It's just like the one in your book!" Charlotte immediately stopped crying, and Daphne looked a bit stunned. I could tell they both recognized the toy's shape as being very similar.

Char then looked up at me with her big wet eyes and said, "I DON"T WANT THIS BLUE CAR!" and she threw it to its death on the carpet below.

Can't blame a guy for trying. Nothing was going to make this little girl feel better but ten hours of solid sleep. A good night's sleep, or even a solid three-hour nap, can be a miracle cure. The screaming, little stranger you placed in the crib will be replaced by a decent human being that you actually want to spend time with.

Makes me think we could all be better people if we just got more rest.

PS. I was feeling sorry for pulling the little blue car out of retirement, only to have him treated so rudely, so I have since disguised this toy under a few layers of coral spray paint. Char's always saying that she wants a pink car.

I finished the paint job last Saturday night, and I was pretty pleased with results. I think the little car is happier, too. Although I can't prove it, I'm positive the car now rolls much straighter, and for longer distances.

Before I got out of bed the next morning, Charlotte had already found the car and chipped his paint by throwing him around and rolling him into walls. That's so cool. Toys in perfect condition are toys that were never loved. I hope this car again gets good and beat up.