Our Easy Child?

Carmi and I adopted our daughter, Eliana, from China on October 29, 2002. She was 8 months old at the time and just turned 4 back in February. We constantly brag about what an ‘easy’ child she was and still is today.

We are now in the midst of paperwork to bring our second daughter home from China. From the moment we both agreed that Eliana needed a little sister, I’ve had this feeling of ‘dread’ in the pit of my stomach that we couldn’t possibly be so lucky twice in a row.

But then I stop and ask myself, “How exactly would I define ‘easy’?”

Eliana can enjoy a good 2-3 hour nap in the afternoon and still sleep through the night. She has slept through the night since only her fourth night at home. However, she must always have someone lay down with her while she goes to sleep and it had better be mommy. If I so much as hint that daddy would like a turn, there is a major meltdown with a deluge of crocodile tears and then mommy must come in for damage control. Daddy will simply not do unless mommy just happens to be away from home which is extremely rare.

Eliana loves music and loves to sing which thrills me because music is such an important part of my life. She especially loves to sing in the car and she happens to sing very well for her age. However, there are two CDs that she likes and two songs in particular on each of the CDs and these are the ONLY songs she wants to hear. Whether we are just driving somewhere in town or on a 4-hour road trip, the same songs are repeated ad-nauseum. If we exercise parental authority and play a different song, our ears are pounded with a constant barrage of “but I don’t know THAT one!” until it’s simply not worth the effort to try and listen.

Eliana has an affinity for water. She is quite comfortable in the ocean or a swimming pool. She especially likes bath time and the opportunity to play in the bubbles, splash and squirt daddy with a various assortment of ‘squirting’ toys. There is usually much laughter…until…it’s time to wash her hair. As we lather, the whining starts and reaches a crescendo at the rinse cycle. We fill a measuring cup, pour the water over her head and then repeat this process several times to wash away the shampoo. With each cupload of water, she screams as though she were being stabbed to death.

Is Eliana an easy child?

There is certainly a fair amount of sacrifice required of parents as there is always bad to go along with the good. And it’s worth it all when that little girl squeezes my neck and says, “I love you, daddy”.