Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Titles, names and silly games.

Two year olds are funny people.  They are pure, they have no phony airs about themselves at all.  A two year old doesn't have to lie to kick it.  (That's what my homies back in the hood used to say....the hood being the small cow town in Northern California I grew up in.) My two year old daughter, like most two year olds is pretty much running on basic needs and wants 99% of the time.  If she needs/want's food, you'll know.  If she needs/wants to be changed, you'll know.  If she needs/wants love, you'll know. If she needs/wants a piece of chocolate she saw her Pop-Pop sneaking out of his closet, not only will you know, but the neighbors will know because she will throw herself on the ground and act as if she was just shot in the leg with a poisonous blow dart.  As an aside, yes I had chocolate hidden in my closet.  It was a birthday chocolate from my Mother in Law and I didn't want the temptation of keeping it out in the open...but, since I was the one who hid it from myself, I made the mistake of telling myself where I hid my own chocolate and I would occasionally steal pieces from myself.  The last I checked my secret chocolate hideaway, there was a short note of apology written on the empty package that read:  From myself to me...I ate your chocolate, get over it you fat pig....enclosed is ten bucks to buy more chocolate.
     Toddlers are mostly all need based.  What they seem to need beyond the basic nurturing is constant attention, attention that I don't always give her.  I'm not saying I don't watch my toddler and just let her walk outside and hot wire cars or anything like that.  I love to watch my daughter, I watch almost everything she does when I can, the problem is she wants more than that.  There are times when toddlers seem to want their every action celebrated like they are reality television stars.  It's like narrating a nature documentary.  "The wild Luna has risen from her slumber with her hair all askew.  She has managed to strip off her pajamas and has removed her soaking wet diaper.  Adept with tools, the wild Luna now swings the diaper, hitting her father in the face."  Of course, there are those other moments when she's being sneaky and trying to eat a penny she somehow materialized from thin air, or encase herself in a roll of toilet paper she confiscated from the bathroom.  Seriously though, I know that attention and encouragement is a very important need that should be embraced.  That's why I play with the toddler when I get home.  My wife and I now lead a life that is much like a tag team wrestling match.  My wife spends the whole day with the toddler, nurturing her, teaching her lesson, and being a great mom.  I appear, tag my wife and run around the house screaming like a loon.  She likes when I make capes for the both of us and we play super hero, using pillows as cars and flinging them across the city/hallway.  Now that Luna is much more verbal, she likes to play games that involve each of us saying our own scripted lines. By scripted lines, I mean things I say off the top of my head and things she screams from the top of her lungs. Yesterday, I had to open the bedroom door, shaker her hand and say "It's nice to meet you."  Yeah, I know she didn't tell me to do that...she's two.  But for some reason she found it all hilarious.  So, Luna's part in the game was to slam the door in my face while saying, “Good bye Ryan.” Then she would double over in laughter. She knows that she is not supposed to call me that, and it brings her joy to ignore the title of “Pop-Pop” and call me Ryan during a silly game. Yeah, I know it's my name, but she didn't need to know that!
I tried to re-direct her. “My name is Pop-Pop.” That wouldn't work. She would just shut the door and say “Bye Ryan.” and laugh and laugh. So, I tried it again. Same result. The third and fourth times also had the same results. Finally after the fifth time of me saying.... “My name is Pop-Pop!” She laughed and said, “Bye Pop-Pop...Ryan!” Toddlers aren't the only people who thrive on basic needs. I need my toddler to stop calling me Ryan, but I'll take what I can get.

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