Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Fetishes

I think I've mentioned it before, but Macy is my child with several fetishes.  We were just thinking about some of them the other day, so I thought I would document them all in one place.
  • "Number" Fetish:  When Macy was a toddler, she needed a "Number" in order to go to bed.  You know those ABC/123 magnets that go on the refrigerator.  Well, she would get in bed and cry, "I need my number."  Then, Greg and I would go on a mad rampage to search the house for the perfect one.  It had to be something with a circle in it (8, 3, P, R, etc.) because she would suck her thumb and slide the number onto her pinkie finger of the thumb-sucking hand.  Then, her eyes would roll back into her head and she would doze off to sleep.  We eventually lost all of the numbers, so that fetish gradually died off.
  • "Spoon" Fetish: We have these plastic toddler spoons that I just LOVE, but I haven't been able to find anymore.  They have a little bit bigger circle on them so the kids can actually fit some food on them, but they still cling to the food so they don't make such a huge mess.  Apparently, Macy loves them too, but for a different reason.  She used to suck her thumb with her left hand and hold the spoon under her chin with her right hand (with the circular part of the spoon cradling her chin).  We have lost all but one of these spoons.
  • "Ear" Fetish:  This is her latest and greatest.  She now sucks her thumb with her left hand and puts her finder behind the earlobe of someone she's cuddling with.  I frequently wake up in the middle of the night with her finger behind my ear to discover that she's snuck into bed.  I can see that the root of her fetishes has to do with thumb sucking, but I don't know how to break that habit.

A couple of recent conversations with Macy:

On Death:
Macy: Mom, is it comfy underground?
Me: What?
Macy: Is it comfy underground?
Me: (I thought I knew what she was talking about at this point, but I wasn't 100% positive.)  Do you mean, is it comfortable to lie on the ground?
Macy: No, the people that die, are they comfy under the ground?
Me: (She was talking about what I thought - yet another discussion on death.)  At this point, I explained to her that when people die, we don't just put their bodies in the ground and cover them up with dirt.  Instead, we put the bodies in a pretty box that has a lot of beautiful blankets and pillows.  We dress their bodies in nice clothes and then close the box so that dirt doesn't get on top of them.
Macy: So...They just lay there and wait for Jesus to recognize them?
Me: I explained, yet again, how our spirits and our bodies work.  When we are born, out spirits and our bodies come together.  When we die, our spirits leave our bodies and go to live in Heaven and our bodies stay on the earth.  When Jesus resurrects us, our spirits and our bodies will come together again.
Macy: When do our spirits know that it is time to leave?
Me: (Stumped)

On Sneezing: 
Macy has been sick (well, everybody has been sick), and she sneezed at dinner the other night.  
Macy: Do I have to have to have this plate forever because I "Bless You'd" on it?
Greg and I: (laughing) No, we'll put it in the dishwasher and it will clean off all the germs.  
Macy: Okay, because some little boogers flew out of my mouth when I sneezed.

On Blinking:
Macy: Mom, what if we never blinked?
Me: Then our eyes would dry up and we couldn't see.
Macy: What?!?
Me: We have water in our eyes and every time we blink, it moistens our eyes and helps us see better.  It just happens really, really fast so we don't notice.
Macy: How come our eyelashes don't get wet?
Me: Do you know what eyelashes are for?  Well, there are little, tiny pieces of dirt and dust in the air that we can't see, and if they get inside our eyes, they can ruin them.  Our eyelashes help catch that dirt and dust to protect our eyes.  If anything does get inside, when we blink, the water cleans it out.  Aren't our bodies amazing!
Macy: (Looking out the window and pondering.)  You should tell Dad about that.

I love her...fetishes and all!  In fact, right now, she is sitting on my lap (what's left of it), wearing a wedding dress and Tasmanian Devil slippers while sucking her thumb and holding her finger behind my ear.  What's not to adore?!?

Apparently my last post was too emotional for comments (don't blame you - I did cry at the beginning of Disney's "Tarzan" today when the baby gorilla gets eaten by the leopard and the mother gorilla is so sad - those pregnancy hormones are out of control).  Or, like Lindsay, I've lost all my blogging friends to Facebook (which I neither understand nor have time/patience to figure out).  So, if you are still with me, what are some of your fetishes (or your children's)?

11 comments:

Lindsay said...

I'm still here! When I was little I had a crack fetish - I couldn't step on the cracks or something bad might happen. Or if I heard someone or a car coming up behind me - I would look ahead to a certain point and start booking it, if I didn't make it to that point by the time someone or something passed me, something bad would happen. I also play the "piano" to music on the radio with my right hand and I get really irritated if it doesn't end on my pinky or thumb when the verse or chorus is over. I have several more that are too weird and hard to explain.

Tera's Bailey had a big earlobe fetish for a long time.

Brian and Kim said...

I am so glad I'm not the only one who feels like facebook has completely taken over. Macey is too darn cute. I love that you've kept track of all her cute fetishes. And the conversations are too funny.

Jackie said...

I love Macy's conversations. My kids always call sneezes "Bless You's" as well. It always makes me laugh.
As a little kid I used to suck my thumb and rub the silk edge of my blanket under my nose. I think that has carried on to my adult life because I have a habit of rubbing/feeling my fingernails. Like to feel the softness of them or something. Wierd, I know....but you asked. :-)

andrea said...

oh emily!!! I just laughed right out loud at the "sneezing" part of this post! she is so curious about life and how things work, i love that you documented this! :)

Elizabeth said...

My kids are major stuffed animal kids. Tyler has had that old brown bunny since he was 9 months old. He rubs his fur in between his fingers still to be able to sleep. He told me the other day that bunnies will always be his favorite animal. Brooke loves stuffed animals too, but only lions, tigers, and dogs. Both of them were/are binkie and animal kids. I am a finger drummer and when I was a kid I folded my tongue back and sucked on it (very talented) I still catch myself doing that sometimes. Steve was a thumb sucker. There we are in a nutshell!

Paige said...

I read your entire last post just now & think it is great. I am just frustrated with life right now - not because of my kids or anything in particular but I know it will pass so I am trying to not only endure, but enjoy life. It's hard, my house isn't clean, Polly's hair isn't done everyday & she picks out the same clothes with stains all over them, making her look like an orphan at the store. Bruce is loud & a big whiner, Lorin is at school/work/the church almost 24/7 & yet I will survive. Light at the end of the tunnel, something to look forward to & trying to enjoy the moment are all that I have. I have great friends & family, I try to keep an eternal perspective & think about the quote from Pres. Hinckley that you posted. What else can I do? Some days I have a cleaner house than others, am nicer than others, make better dinner than others, am more productive than others - I am still learning that I can't be the best at everything everyday. Ugh.

Love all of Macy's fetishes, they are adorable. I laughed out loud when she told you to tell Greg about blinking :)

I can't think of any Polly fetishes right now. She sleeps with about 9 blankets & always knows when one is missing. They are all pink - how does she know if the one with flowers isn't there!? Or the one with hearts!? She knows but I have no idea how.

I hope you guys get feeling better soon! Being sick & having it pass to each family member is the worst!

Bryce & Cherise said...

oh how FUNNY! :) This entire post made me laugh. Macy is just so dang cute! Like Tanner!
and I love love love how good you are about explaining things to her (eyelashes, plan of salvation.... :)
AND i laughed extra hard that she thinks you need to tell Greg about the wonders of eyelashes

Bryce & Cherise said...

oh how FUNNY! :) This entire post made me laugh. Macy is just so dang cute! Like Tanner!
and I love love love how good you are about explaining things to her (eyelashes, plan of salvation.... :)
AND i laughed extra hard that she thinks you need to tell Greg about the wonders of eyelashes

Tera said...

I'm still here too. Just a little late. Yes Bailey started out life with an ear fetish. I still catch him doing it every once in a while. I don't think he even knows he's doing it. I have several pics of him, my favorite is him holding a brand new Deidre and rubbing Grandma's ear sitting next to him. He never sucked his thumb though, that was Camden.

Cam sucked his thumb until about 3. He got a really bad cold and couldn't breathe and suck his thumb and so he just stopped one day, Hooray!!

Enoch's is Elmo and milk in his sippy cup :)

Tera said...

I'm still here too. Just a little late. Yes Bailey started out life with an ear fetish. I still catch him doing it every once in a while. I don't think he even knows he's doing it. I have several pics of him, my favorite is him holding a brand new Deidre and rubbing Grandma's ear sitting next to him. He never sucked his thumb though, that was Camden.

Cam sucked his thumb until about 3. He got a really bad cold and couldn't breathe and suck his thumb and so he just stopped one day, Hooray!!

Enoch's is Elmo and milk in his sippy cup :)

Tera said...

oops sorry