You want stuff you can't reach. You try and tell your mom by pointing your finger and making frantic, indiscernible shrieks. She just looks at you and starts offering you everything BUT the one thing you are pointing at. So, of course, the next logical step is to to throw yourself on the ground, turn up the decibels a few notches, and launch a full-out tantrum. You know - so your mom understands the urgency of how much you really need THAT ONE THING.
After screaming and writhing on the floor for twenty minutes or so, your mom is pretty sure that you have actually forgotten what it is that initially made you upset. Now you are crying and carrying on because you are mad and it really feels good to let that frustration out. How does she know this? She may or may not have this problem herself.
You won't let her touch you. Every time you look at her, you start crying harder because she reminds you of what made you mad in the first place (whatever that was....). Yet, she continues to sit nearby, keeping an eye on you, making sure the path is clear of any potential hazards as you pitifully throw your body about the living room floor. She patiently waits for your sobs to subside and for you to crawl back to her for a hug, like you always end up doing. She would hug you right now, but chances are you would throw your head back and whack her on the chin. She knows this because you've done it before (MANY times). So she waits.
After awhile, you decide to choose a spot and settle there, still sobbing, but no longer screaming. The sobs subside, and your mom readies for the long-awaited embrace. But you don't come crawling back. So she approaches you instead. And this is what she finds:
so she gently picks you up and places you in your crib where you peacefully sleep for nearly three hours.
She is so happy that you were able to settle down. But she is also so sad because she never did figure out what you wanted. And she knows that, inevitably, it will happen again.
It's rough being the mom of a 16 month old.
