Hug It Out

 manipulate – to manage or influence skillfully, esp. in an unfair manner

She kicked off the snow day with a poop art show.

She ate playdoh, peed on the floor not once but twice, dumped my silverware in the trash can, and sprinkled my kitchen with 2 pounds of shredded cheese.

Her hair, face, arms and hands were covered in spaghetti sauce when I marched her into the bathroom.

I scrubbed her face and hands quickly.

“I am done with you and your messes today, Rhema.” I scolded. “Not good! Not good!”

I stepped back and studied her. She’d had a guilty “I’m caught” look when I walked into the kitchen. She’d hummed a tense hum while I washed her up. Now she stood next to the towel rack with her head down, eyes shut tightly. She understood that I was not pleased with her.

Then she half-smiled, eyes still shut, and stepped toward me. As if I’d turned into a eucalyptus tree right there in the bathroom, she climbed me – all 52 lbs of her – and wrapped herself around me.

This is the child who used to resist touch and squirm away whenever we tried to hold her. Nowadays, she seeks it out almost too much it seems… which is a problem because she’s sort of irresistable.

I let her hang on me like a koala, my arms limp at my side. Because I was still mad. Yeah.

Then she took one of my arms and slowly tucked it behind her. And she surely took my other arm and wrapped it around her.

And I melted. I squeezed.

And then she did it. She giggled.

The girl who once seemed so lost in her own world, unaware of things and people around her… giggled like she’d won.

I’m done for.

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Does manipulation count as a developmental milestone?

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Picture Source: http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3548/3321707045_13c1029a02.jpg

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