Wednesday, December 19, 2007

OCD???

Is it possible for one so young as a two-year-old to have a touch of OCD? I'm beginning to wonder. Let me just share a few things that lead me to suspect this...

1. If I stop the microwave before the full cooking time is done, the display will flash with the remaining seconds. Heaven forbid! Savannah cannot stand letting it flash and will make sure that I push "clear" in order to make it stop. She points and grunts her little baby grunts until it's taken care of, and once it has stopped, she becomes her happy little self again.

2. She picks up minute pieces of "stuff" off of the floor. And when I say minute, I mean virtually microscopic. Yet she becomes so concerned with it, and what's more, she brings me every little piece. I thank her and promptly throw it back on the floor.

3. We recently got professional family pictures taken. The photographer that was shooting our session had her hair done up with a pen stuck through the back. While she was trying to get Savannah to sit still and smile, the pen fell out of her hair and onto the floor. I was watching Savannah's face, and immediately saw the look of concern came over her. I knew then and there that the session would come to a screeching halt until the pen was picked up and returned to its rightful place in the hair. Sure enough. She said, "Uh-oh," and stared with undisguised alarm at the offending pen. The lady had no idea what was going on, which made it funnier. When she did finally realize it, and picked the pen up, Savannah settled back into her chair and was ready for more pictures.

These are just a few examples. Every single day I have to reassure her when things happen that she gets concerned over. "Uh-oh!" she says, and I will reply, "It's ok!" Now it's gotten to the point where she will answer herself....if something happens, or she falls down etc., she will say "Oh no!" and then in the next breath, "O-tay!" Yes, it's very cute, but after a few dozen episodes a day, it can be a wee bit tiring. So, maybe this is very normal toddler behavior. I really have nothing to base it on. Maybe it's normal to have to have your chair lined up EXACTLY right in order for you to eat breakfast. Maybe it's normal to have all of your stuffed animals positioned just so on the chair next to you. She is definitely going to be a creature of habit, so I guess my job is to instill good habits in her.

Tomorrow we meet with an attorney to get some legal advice on the startup of the business. This whole thing is really taking a lot of time, just like we knew it would, and I am doing my best to stay calm and focused. I cannot wait for February when everything will be completely done, when the corporation is fully in place, when we have all of the required insurances, and when we have figured out a little more what we are actually doing. It's going to be an interesting ride.
Ricardo put in his notice at work on Friday. To say that his boss was shocked is a slight understatement. I was on pins and needles the entire day, wondering how it all was going to go, wondering if Bill would become angry and tell him to leave then and there. Fortunately that did not happen, and they had a good talk. Of course Bill did not want to lose him, and it was nice to hear him say that he knows that he won't be able to replace him. Not that we want Bill to be in a bind, but Ricardo is such a hard worker and I think he doesn't always get the respect he deserves. I know he felt more appreciated after seeing Bill's response. But, it's time that Ricardo gets out on his own. Starting his own business is all he has talked about from the time I have known him, so I am happy for him. I'm happy for us. He has a lot of passion and drive, and you can hear the excitement in his voice when he talks about it. So......even though it's a little scary, it's going to be good.

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