I've Been Thinking......

This is one of my trouble making children. She likes noise, she's loud and she enjoys being loud. I have to love her for that because she comes from two really quiet people. She is also 11 months old! I never really think of her or her brother being so loud that they are annoying other people but according to some old dude at our local coffee shop.... they are quite annoying. So he says. I happen to think that when my daughter is squealing and laughing, it's pretty cute and a lot less annoying than screaming and crying. Apparently, I'm wrong. I am trying to understand his point of view, I used to be somewhat of his opinion, but usually because I spent most of my time immersed every aspect of care for a group of thirty something children. After twelve hours of child care mayhem, ears and nerves are pretty shot.

Being with Ciaran and Ed all the time, I know I am accustomed to the squeals, screams, and tantrums that a baby and a toddler throw around on a daily basis. I guess I just already know how kids can be and all the screaming and crying in the world is just part of what they are growing into. It's a hard process growing up, especially before you have words to express your needs. Don't get me wrong, I am not one for sitting through a tantrum without doing my part to try to put a stop to it. I have (and still do!) spent a fair amount of time discerning between "I'm really upset and don't know how to express it otherwise" and the "Seriously, just let me get my way because that is what I'm used to, and I'm not gonna stop till you give in" tantrums. I was pretty skilled at getting through to the good stuff, and helping whichever child it was, come to a conclusion whatever that conclusion may have been. I just wish more people like the sad old dude we met the other day would try and reach back a little, back to when they were small and trying to feel the world out. Remember being misunderstood, remember feeling like a bad kid for something you did that wasn't necessarily bad. Remember frustration, sadness, joy, anger, and the like, before we all went and got sticks stuck up our nether regions about this, that and the other, and lost the ability to just let go and get it out. A little understanding would be nice and imagine what it would do for the kids and parents that need it.