I Do It!

“I do it!”

"I DO IT!!”

It’s what comes out of Luna’s mouth, oh at least 99 times a day.

The entire dynamic of our house has shifted. It’s damage control; all day, every day. Even Sienna, our four-year-old is part of the clean-up crew.

In a matter of just a few weeks, Luna has crossed over into the Terrible Two category. With two capital “T’s”.

Inside I’m actually relieved. Relieved because the terrible two’s are all about autonomy; and Luna, through her tantrums, is demonstrating some serious intent. At barely three-feet-high, she cannot negotiate the world like her parents and older sister. And this makes her angry. Fuming mad. And frustrated, and finally sad. The most mundane of house hold tasks-like turning on the TV-usually ends with Luna in a puddle of tears on the floor.

From the moment Luna wakes-up, until I man-handle her into her crib at night, every task at hand is I do it. (Yes I wrote man-handle. Luna is an expert climber, shaming the deftest of any monkey out there. But she hasn’t been able to figure out how to climb into her crib; an event that requires me to wrestle her in, against her will)

Height seems to be a thing for Miss Luna. She desires to experience life from the highest perch she can find. Usually in the morning, this is my antique dresser that is over 4 feet tall, where, in a short visit to the bathroom, I will find Luna sitting proudly on top. In the case of this morning, I found her eating a bowl of cereal with a mischievous grin. (honestly, I’m not sure how she got the bowl up there-in tact-with no spillage).

So, my new worry is how this very spirited, rebellious, strong-willed little girl is going to take to being bed-ridden for a few weeks.

Can we suggest a steady dose of sedatives?

I worry too, because this child gets even ANGRIER if one curtails her efforts to “do it” herself. Last night she wanted to show Daddy how she ‘pees’ on the potty. The Architect isn’t clued-in yet on how to handle this. Luna MUST sit on the big potty, and only has me hold her because she’s already fallen into the basin (that was a good start to the morning). Well, The Architect tried to convince her that the little potty is for her. Her retaliation was to bite him with all her might.

Tomorrow starts our journey through Luna’s cardiac catheter and Fontan. We’ll arrive to Children’s Boston at 7:30 for a day of pre-testing. I’m hoping Luna’s desire to charm others will be stronger than her will to do things all by her big-girl-self. We’ll have X-Rays, blood tests and EKGs to get through. All of which require our New Two to sit still.

You can bet that I'll be holding my breath. My planned mantra for the day, borrowed from Luna, “I (can) do it!”