Close Standing

Thursday, June 26, 2008

My two and ½ year old is a “Close Stander”

The Close Stander
I cannot tell you how many times I’ve knocked my two and ½ year old down while turning around.

You see, Sadie is a “Close Stander.” She often stands behind me, Gillette razor close, to see what I’m doing without ever touching me. As a result, I rarely sense her presence. She means no harm — just excited to be alive — but the act often causes her temporary pain, and consequently, a brief session of crying. So I do my best to avoid it.

While preparing to put her down for a nap this afternoon, I spun around to find her directly beneath me. With gymnast-like dexterity, I managed to avoid disaster by quickly contorting my body, but at the expense of tweaking me neck. (I did clip her foot, which left her slightly upset, but tearless.)

In any case, “Close Standing” is a comical, sometimes painful, and slightly frustrating side effect of being the parent of an enthusiastic but smallish human being. Can I get a witness?

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