Sep
09
2008
I made her cry!
You can add to that long list of “Things they never tell you about babies,” that babies will cry just when you least expect it. Or, perhaps more precisely put, they will cry when you least want them to, in this case, in the very gentle and kind face of a stranger.
We were in the elevator this morning on our way to the ABC Kids Showcase. There were only a couple of people in the elevator. One had a badge that read Fit Pregnancy on it. “Oooh,” I thought, I want to talk to him. He was looking at Finley with a huge grin, “Look at all that hair,” he said, “I’m jealous.” We all tittered as he had a very noticeably shaved head.
He leaned in, “Well hello, pretty little one. Hello.” He was beaming and about to reach for her foot when her whole body went tense, her feet kicked out and she shrieked as if in pain. What followed were three minutes of unabated screaming and sobbing and floor after floor of, “Oh, poor thing doesn’t like elevators.” After the second or third comment he said, “No, she just doesn’t like overly friendly bald men.”
There was not soothing her, nor was there any real chance to smooth things over. I ached for the kind stranger and for Fin, both were equally traumatized I am sure. If he’s reading this…
No worries! She shook it off nicely.
