Like mother, like daughter

The Munchkin is quite the drama queen, and I know that she gets most of that from me. I admit it. But I did not teach her the funniest, most melodramatic gesture that I have ever seen a toddler do. If the Munchkin gets upset, she covers her eyes with her hands and automatically goes into a fake cry. She will peek through her fingers or look up when she’s been at it for a little bit, just to make sure that someone is witnessing her (fake) misery and feeling sorry for her.

In short, it makes me laugh every single time. Her grandmother also goes into giggles whenever she sees it.

Unfortunately, it looks like the Munchkin has inherited other things from me. Like a childhood tendency toward bloody noses in the summer. There has been more than one morning (and nap, for that matter) when we have walked into the nursery to find bloodstains on crib sheets and a crusty nose and face absolutely caked with dried blood. A couple of baby wipes does the trick on the face, and soaking in cold water and ammonia will remove blood from fabric. But it doesn’t stop me from feeling badly for my little girl and this obviously passed-down affliction. A little Neosporin in each nostril at night did the trick for me as a child, and it is working for the Munchkin, too, but no toddler likes having a Q-Tip swabbed up their nose before bed. Just try it.

It is amazing how many of our follies and frailties we see in our children. It’s not pleasant to see them repeat our mistakes because they inherited, or are mimicking, our faults for everyone to see yet again. Since I never did the whole fake crying thing (my mom will attest to that!), I just have to chalk that up to an inherited dramatic nature (God help me – it was bad enough living through that when it was just me). But the bloody noses and the allergies and the other physical limitations – I hope she inherited her father’s perfect eyesight – I just have to accept those, help her cope with them, and keep the Neosporin handy.

It makes me wonder what Munchkin #2 will be like. We know one thing for certain that I have already done for him – unlike his father, he will not be colorblind, because that has to be inherited from the mother, and I do not carry that gene. (Yes, the Webmaster has 20/15 vision, but he is colorblind.) So he can be a pilot someday, if he wants – something his daddy wanted to do and couldn’t. The Munchkin’s sons could be colorblind someday, if they inherit the X chromosome her dad gave her. And the cycle of genetics – and life – continues onward… I’d better stock up on Q-Tips.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 2nd, 2005 at 6:02 pm and is filed under Children.
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