Rather extraordinary generalization.
Not true in my experience.
If she's happy about it, I'm happy about it. Our new neighbors love her, she loves them, I'm thrilled to pieces to have her go over there for a while and give me some time.
A baby sitter is not exactly the same as leaving the kid curled up in the corner of a convenient cave (which may or may not belong to a large, carnivorous animal).
Until you get your reptile brain to recognize the difference, you'll go through hell.
Most reptile brains can be educated....but it takes time.
Hold your dominion.
Jeez, Noddy, can't I just do some LSD or something to expand my brain? It would be so much simplier.
Boomerang--
Every good woman lies down to sleep between an antelope and a lizard. All our rationality is in the forebrain....the midbrain we share with animals and then like all other animals we share the brain stem with reptiles.
You're a woman with seasoned, mature judgement. Think what a wreck you'd be if you'd tackled motherhood twenty years ago.
Oh I know I'm being silly, Noddy.
Twenty years ago I would have been a 40 car collision if I'd attempted motherhood, leaving the baby near convenient caves and such just for a chance to get out of the house.
T, the babysitter, is a really good kid and I'm sure things will be fine.
Still, ex-neighbor's kids have been know to have a big impact on my life. Perhaps thats why I have the heebie-jeebies.
That could be part of it, yep.
My overriding thing is we all know it's silly, that doesn't mean it isn't there. I agree that it's reptilian, but what I do with the reptilian-ness is the same as what you seem to be doing -- recognize it's reptilian, take the more enlightened route (don't call and cancel), but seek some reassurance that you're not the only one who is reptilian (you're not.)
Yes, it is good to know that when the reptile takes over that there are some friends in the snake pit.
In the future there will be times when you replace the resident cud chewer with Mama Tiger.
I thought I'd report in to say that everything went swimmingly.
T told us that Mo began to cry after we'd been gone about an hour saying that he'd lost us.
We deal with "lost" people around here a lot.
<sigh>
T. handled it very well telling him that we weren't lost and that we'd be back very soon.
By the time we got home they were cuddling on the sofa watching "James and the Giant Peach" (Giant Lunch as its known around here).
This morning we had to talk again about lost people.
Overall I think it might have been very good for him to see that lost people can and do return as promised.
For sure!
Glad it went so well, boomer. Big hugs.
Big hugs back at ya, soz.
It wasn't nearly as traumatic as I thought it might be, for any of us.
And it certainly was nice to spend an evening in the company of adults.
Sounds like T is a gem.
Time for you with just adults is as good for Mo as it is for you.
(is it weird that a lot of this is similar to desensitizing a pet with separation anxiety? I'd worked with kids in this area a bit, long before I had dogs - odd (to me) similarities came up in desensitization)
Boomerang--
Glad you all survived.
In many ways you're lucky that Little Mo has enough of a vocabulary to be able to articulate "I feel abandoned." Then once he has that out in the open he can move on to television and works of literature.
Hold your dominion.
That's a good way to look at it, Noddy. Thank you.
Getting it said really must be better than just dealing with the frustration of lost people.
I think you're right on both counts, eBeth.
