Catherine Connors is a mother, writer and recovering academic who traded the lecture hall for the playroom and discovered that university students and preschoolers have much the same attention span. She still dips her toes into academic waters by writing the occasional scholarly article about the place of motherhood in Western philosophy, but mostly now she changes diapers and wipes noses and indulges in long reflections on whether Yo Gabba Gabba is a harbinger of the decline of western civilization. Oh, and she blogs: in addition to Bad Mother blogging at BeliefNet, she is, among other things, the author of HerBadMother.com, Managing Editor of MamaPop, moderator of Her Bad Mother’s Basement, co-founder and co-editor of WeCovet, Contributing Editor at BlogHer, and (deep breath) founder of and contributor to Canada Moms Blog. And in her spare time… oh, wait. She doesn’t have spare time. But she’s okay with that.
This? Is Jasper. Throwing a fit.
Which probably doesn’t seem all that extraordinary, in itself. Little boys and girls throw fits and hurl their little bodies to the ground and kick and scream. But there’s the rub: little boys and girls do this. Not babies. Babies just throw their heads back and wail. Sometimes, they’ll reach out with their little arms to be comforted. But they generally don’t fling their whole physical selves into a temper tantrum. That’s the work of the toddler.
I think that Jasper is maybe a toddler. Which is to say, not a baby. No longer a baby. No longer a baby.
I think that my heart just cracked a little along the edges. Okay, maybe it just cracked a lot. Right through the middle.
Oy.
posted July 14, 2009 at 11:28 pm
No matter what, Jasper will always be your baby. When he is three, and needs a snuggle, or a cuddle on your knee. When he is starting Kindergarten, and needs that last hug of reassurance and that last look over his shoulder at you before walking into the classroom. When he is 7, and is only about a foot shorter than you, and he skins his knee wiping out on his bike… he will still be your baby.
I’ve found, with my boys so far, is however far they stretch away from me, they snap back to my side with a force at least as strong as the stretch. And the words “I need a mommy snuggle tonight because I’ve missed you.” just prove this, time and again.
P.S. Your baby is seriously adorable, even in the middle of a tantrum!
posted July 15, 2009 at 7:20 am
ayelet waldman – bad mother
posted December 3, 2009 at 1:10 pm
I love this photo! It’s lovely and the article is useful!