I Have Lost My Friend!

My sister-in-law, Kristen, has four children under the age of seven.

Last Friday she picked me up and the six of us went off to the Farmer's Market. We wandered up and down the crowded bustling aisles comparing prices on carrots and Brussels sprouts and finally decided on one booth close to the entrance.

I stood to the side with the stroller and Kristen's three oldest children as she wandered around the booth collecting what she needed. Her youngest, Enoch, was following her around and "helping" her get some corn on the cob. He held onto one side of the bag and she held the other, but since he's so little, it was more like a leash for him. She filled the bag and guided Enoch back to the cashier.

But then she took the bag away and handed it to the lady behind the till and Enoch decided to prove, right then and there, that he is indeed, two years old.

He stood behind Kristen, arms limp, completely still, head thrown all the way back, and bawled. "WaaaaHa! WaaaaHa! WaaaaHa!" Each wail a carbon copy of the previous one. He had lost his friend. His eyes were squinted shut and he seemed completely oblivious to everything around him. This was in its truest form, a cry for attention.

The girls behind the counter, and some of the ladies in line, were giggling, and I, still off to the side with the stroller, was standing there nearly doubled over with laughter. Kristen just shook her head.

As soon as she had finished paying, she turned around and touched Enoch's shoulder, holding out the bag of corn on the cob. He slowly opened his eyes and tilted his head back down, still wailing, and took one side of the bag again. Almost instantly, the crying stopped. Kristen let go of the other side of the bag and started to walk away, leaving Enoch there to follow her back to the stroller, dragging the bag of corn behind him, his face streaked with tears. This kid has "pathetic" down to an art.

Two-year-olds: making the world a more complicated, dramatic, and entertaining place.