Glibbertysmidgeon

Yesterday was the first summery day of 2007, so William and I took Scarlett and Sophie to the park.

William was holding the baby while I was fiddling with the stroller. When I looked up, Scarlett was cute as a button riding on Uncle William’s shoulders.

I froze.

“Don’t ever let Kris see you doing that.” I said, though I was unable to resist a smile at how happy Scarlett looked up there.

I explained that Daddy once knew an EMT who told him too many horrible stories of children killed or maimed when they tumbled backward from their fathers’ shoulders.

“You’ll never catch me holding our children that way.” Kris told me once, as we watched a dad passing on the sidewalk, little son riding high on his shoulders.

“I’m not going to let her fall”, William said, holding her little ribcage with both hands, his elbows sticking out beside his ears.

I allowed that he was holding her fast enough, and snapped a guilty picture before he took her down.

Throughout our walk, William poked fun at my hovering.

“Is her hat in her eyes?”
“Is she sleeping?”
“Don’t let her put that toy in her mouth, it isn’t clean”
“Should we put her a jacket on her?”
“Is the baby sleeping?”
“It’s getting close to her bedtime. We’d better head for home.”

“The baby is fine” William said, “Learn to relax and enjoy your life!”

I started thinking about the Rules of Parenthood that I had designed for myself back in the days Before Scarlett (BS).

In Before Scarlett times, I scoffed at those over protective parents who never let their kids get dirty.
“Kids get dirty. That’s what water is for.” I’d say with a shrug.

In Before Scarlett times, I swore I would not use electric gadgets to pacify my child. “Baby neglectors” I think I called them. I was going to fill all of these precious waking hours with love and learning.

Some of these ideals (no TV until the age of 2, no Hershey bars…) we’ve managed to live by.

Others, I guess, are just so much BS.

Post Script: On reading this post, Kris told me that the hold William is demonstrating in this picture is not, in fact, the deadly hold. The key is where you grip the child. If you hold on to your child by the feet, he’d better be wearing a helmet, because if he goes over backward, the momentum of his fall will most likely jerk him out of your hands. If, however, you hold him by his torso (as William demonstrates) or by the hands, you will have leverege to stop the backward fall before it gets going.