Yes sir, that’s my baby
Saturday afternoon, I took Tacy and CJ to a birthday party. It was a party for Tacy’s friend, and yet I left both girls.
I thought about it as I drove, wondering if I was overstepping the bounds of friendship and overestimating CJ’s ability to behave herself. The mother of Tacy’s friend is a friend of mine too, and she’s always liked CJ. CJ thinks birthday parties are the greatest thing going, whether they’re for her or for someone else, and Tacy is exceptionally good at caring for CJ in social settings.
Okay, and I had a ton of work to do.
I told the birthday girl’s mother to call me at the first sign of CJ-induced insanity, and I’d come right back. I wasn’t even going all the way home; I’d be at Panera with my laptop.
She never called, so I stayed at Panera for an hour and a half before returning. When I came in, the first thing the birthday girl’s father said was, “CJ is so funny!”
Oh, thank god, I thought. Nobody says that if they don’t really mean it.
I found her on the deck, threading a jump rope through the knot holes in the boards. “Hi Mommy!” she chirped.
Apparently both girls behaved beautifully, which children tend to do when their parents aren’t around. And while my friend certainly doesn’t want me to drop the girls off for a long weekend, at least the birthday party drop-off wasn’t the imposition I’d feared.
I may be her adoring mother, but I realize that CJ isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. Some people think she is absolutely wonderful, and other people…well, not so much.
I’m the first to admit that she can be difficult and demanding, even apart from the speech delay. She has a mercurial temperament. She goes from zero to sixty in 4.2 seconds. Once she gets wound up, it takes a while for her to unwind. I have to give her time and space; she doesn’t respond to the standard under-the-breath-growl: “You’d better shape up, or ELSE.”
But she’s unexpectedly sweet and unbelievably affectionate, not just with us, but with anyone whom she senses likes her too. The girl’s got a great built-in bullshit detector; it seems that she instinctually knows who her friends are.
I know there are people – even friends of ours – who don’t like her. I understand that, and it’s okay. Not everyone will like my children, just like not everyone likes me. You can’t please all the people all the time.
But CJ does please most of the people most of the time. That’s more than enough for me.
Yes sir, that’s my baby.
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What, did you come here for cynicism? Find that over at The Parental is Political today.
October 28th, 2008 at 5:57 am
Ah yes, I am familiar with CJ’s temperament. I never really thought about the natural bullshit detector before, but Rosie’s certainly got that too!
Nancys last blog post..When you care enough to send… something
October 28th, 2008 at 8:16 am
Isn’t it funny how that happens – leave them with someone else and they act ‘just fine’? That said, I think your girl is pretty sweet!
Gretchens last blog post..Somewhere there’s laundry to be folded.
October 28th, 2008 at 8:22 am
what a cutie. my little casey is not everyone’s cup of tea either. sometimes not even mine
MommyNamedAprils last blog post..Happy Birthday Hubs! (…again)
October 28th, 2008 at 8:50 am
Count me firmly in the “think she’s wonderful” camp. Her smile just makes me melt!
mayberrys last blog post..Front, back, micro, macro
October 28th, 2008 at 9:16 am
I was just thinking about this as my youngest son Gray is maybe not so “likable” all the time by most people, but you’re right… that’s ok.
Steph
October 28th, 2008 at 10:32 am
I think she is a particularly interesting little girl! N has several friends whose little brothers are as welcome as the friend – sometimes even more.
October 28th, 2008 at 11:25 am
My sister as a child = CJ. Her doctor told my mom to put her on Ritalin, my mom blatanly refused. She needed a completely different worldly experience than I did, and now she is finishing her Masters in Geology.
October 28th, 2008 at 12:23 pm
I’m very relieved to discover that my son behaves better when I’m not around. I’m a little jealous, but also relieved.
Heathers last blog post..Party in the Pasture Woot Woot!
October 28th, 2008 at 4:59 pm
I will have to admit that I didn’t get a chance to hang with CJ at your place because I was busy loving on Ollie Pop, but I seem to recall that she and Chris had quite a thing going by the time we left!
I am always worried about Ciaran being not liked mostly because he’s been known to drive me bat-shit crazy and I see him being himself around others and I cringe in fear. But mostly it’s just me and he is widely liked.
fruitladys last blog post..Perfect Moment
October 28th, 2008 at 5:55 pm
She sounds wonderful to me and her mom is cool so I’ll assume she is. And it’s great having family friends like that.
katie ~ motherbumpers last blog post..want: part 2
October 28th, 2008 at 8:31 pm
Duh, she’s totally going to marry my husband when she grows up. And they both have *awesome* taste.
Aimee Greeblemonkeys last blog post..Me? A Soccer Mom? You Betcha.
November 3rd, 2008 at 1:55 pm
I have a feeling that my little one will be a lot like CJ. And I love her for it already!
We get a lot of, “She’s soooooo active.” Yes, she is. She is in constant motion, and it’s tiring, but she is affectionate and sweet and laughs a lot. I like to say that she feels things fully, and that’s a wonderful thing.
caramamas last blog post..Question of the Week – Halloween Costumes
April 20th, 2009 at 9:00 pm
[...] said before that I recognize that CJ is not everyone’s cup of tea. It takes a little effort to understand her when she speaks. She can quickly become emotional [...]