Feb. 10, 2000 - Thursday
Harry was taking an evening nap against the comfort of his mother's shoulder
and must have falling into some sort of baby nightmare. At first we weren't
quite sure whether he was asleep because he let out these two more-than-precious
and very audible, quintessential baby/puppy dog whimper. His closed eyes confirmed
he was dreaming, but the nightmare part became evident with a loud wail that
woke him up and drew quick comforting measures from his mother and me.
Watching Harry's face work through the puzzlement of what just happened made
it clear that he's not entirely confident with the wake vs. dream state yet,
but that will take many years to work out. Unfortunately, with poor Harry, there's
no simple way to tell him that it was just a dream. He staunchly maintained
his best upset pouty face for several minutes to come regardless of the reassurances
of his lovely mother.
I have to concede that while I feel terrible for Harry's pain in situations
like this, the picture he paints is so perfect that it's hard not to step back
and admire the big picture. Babies can be so unpredictable and hard to figure
out at times, but then there are moments like this that are so accessible with
raw and simple emotions and experiences to which anyone could relate. I'm not
sure what he was dreaming about - his three shots at the
doctor, maybe - but the momentary disorientation between a rough dream and
waking up is easy to appreciate at any level. And, Harry acted out those basic
anxieties to perfection.
