Originally posted September 2014.
Today was a day of learning technology.
I hate learning technology.
And, as I sat there, with Chad on the phone trying to walk me through every agonizingly frustrating step of the grueling process, Emerald cried. No, she didn’t just cry. She screamed. In my face. About everything.
With the technology headache slashing my patience to ribbons, I had a moment of just wishing that Emerald wasn’t two. I don’t know what age I wanted her to be–maybe a calm and careful nine. Or a sweet and quiet six. But, her two-ness was raging, and technology was uncooperative, and I just wished for something other than the textbook toddler moment we had going on.
I decided to quit for the moment and take her home to let her eat and nap–two fairly vital parts of her day. And, as I buckled her in the car, her face still wet with tears, she launched into a long story about Sawyer and his Legos. She spoke in her broken baby-English, and her exaggerated facial expressions and her grown up looking gestures made me laugh.
Tonight before bed she was pretending she had forgotten how to say yogurt. “I want some orgash,” she sang, before dissolving into a footie-pj-ed pile of giggles. I watched her eyes squint as part of the huge grin that covered her tiny face, and I wondered how I could ever dream of rushing this stage, this age, this day-I-will-never-have-back.
While she napped, I figured out the technology. When she woke up, she cried. And she laughed. She danced and sang and she refused to get out of the tub. She had opinions about which pjs to wear, and she insisted on a peculiar and painfully slow method of eating her “orgash.” She wanted to wear shoes to bed.
And, tomorrow we’ll do it all again.
I’m glad. So, so glad.
So glad you are back up. The link in your e-mail leads to a 404 error. Several days ago it seems, your blog (any post from it) came up with this large ATTACK PAGE in red. And try as I might, I could not get up what you were sending. Hope you are through the jungle of technology now.
Martha, hackers are just the worst. I wish they would find something more productive to do with their time than to try and ruin my blog. Thanks so much for being patient!!
What a lovely and joyful piece. And to think that ANYTHING good could happen in the midst of a story that involved figuring out technology. Ugh.
I know, Michele! Technology and I just don’t mix. I think I was born in the wrong century. 🙂 And thanks so much!