Tuesday, June 5, 2007

Comfort Zone

I started this one a couple of weeks ago and The Beast interrupted me and I kind of forgot about it. Seeing as though it was about her, you would have thought I could have gotten more than just the title in.

Moving on. For those of you who have spent any significant time around children, you know that there is usually a "warm up" period. The child first sees you as this foreign being on their home turf, they are determined to rid you from their sanctuary at all costs. Slowly they begin to find ways to use your presence to their advantage; food, shelter, bubbles, a lift up in the air to get a better view, the basics. Some kids are naturally affectionate during this time, they will let you hold them whenever the mood strikes either of you, they will allow tickling and/or random silliness. The Beast never held those thoughts. She was, and sometimes still is, anti Child PDA. No hugging, no chilling out on my lap during moments I happen to be without her little brother, and certainly not anything initiated by her.

Well, she has finally melted her stone cold heart. Maybe not melted, just a low setting of defrost. I was doing some dishes and she was entertaining herself by running laps around the island in the middle of the kitchen. This works to both of our benefits; exhausts her to the point that she actually has the mellow mood I pray for and she gets to bump in to me as often as she likes. At one point during her exuberant marathon, she stopped to take a break. She ran up behind me, buried her face in my butt and gave me a huge hug.

That, is when you know a kid is comfortable around you.