(no subject)

[liralen]

Last night, I was having a shouting match with Kathy on the phone in our bedroom as I didn't want to scare Jet. I heard the *thunk* *thunk* *thunk* of Jet trying to open the door and then he wanders in, looking a little concerned. I avoided eye contact as I didn't want him to think I was yelling at him, but kept at the conversation for a while.

I could feel Jet studying me. Then he leaned on my legs, put his chin on my knees and then gave me a sweet, quiet, calm smile that crinkled his eyes, pitted his dimples, and he craned his head just a bit to give it that movie star angle, and he just looked at me that way for a good three or four minutes. WHILE I was shouting.

I couldn't keep up the frustrated anger that had been fueling my side of the conversation. I just couldn't in the face of that. I just had to smile back at him. When I did he gave me his more characteristic grin, puckered up for a kiss, and when he got it he toddled off again.

I was flabbergasted, and I was also able to get far more reasonable with the conversation after the break from the old habits and the old reactions. And Kathy and I had a great conversation after that. A good one, even, and we both learned a few things.

I, for one, now know that Jet is not scared of me when I shout. This is... entirely different than my own reactions from when my parents shouted about anything. It was duck and run kind of adrenaline charge when they raised their voices at all. Jet is not only not scared of me, but I *think* he came over to make me feel better. And he did. Wow.

Comments

[niherlas.livejournal.com]

Wow. Hearing (reading) you describe moments like that is one of the many things that adds to my anticipation of Nathan's arrival in the world.

That, and getting to see his expression the first time he tries wasabi peas. ;-)

[liralen.livejournal.com]

*falls over giggling*

Jet, when we weren't watching, got on the kitchen counter, when he was something like 14-months-old, and stole two red berries. They happened to be pequine peppers, fresh off a bush, which are HIGH in the scoville unit chart. He bit one. He gradually got this look on his face and then he was going "AHHH! AHHH! AHH!!" I fed him milk and he calmed down pretty quickly.

Then, of course, he immediately grabbed the other pequine and bit it, too...

He now eats hot stuff, yells until he gets milk, and then he eats more. He loves the stuff. In this, he is his father's son. Yeesh

[uke.livejournal.com]

oo!

sometimes i think ezekiel likes the hot stuff, but i'm still a little to scared to give any to him on purpose.

[liralen.livejournal.com]

Yeah... after his demonstrated ability and desire, we now keep it to stuff that I can eat, which is pretty wimpy, but it's enough to make Jet quite happy. He's now eaten green chile stew, red chile pork, curries of various sorts (though Jet's far more into the sauce on rice than the gooey stuff in the sauces), and various things from Casa de Mina, a local Mexican restaurant that caters to him as we go there often enough.

I think I'll limit him to the milder spicy thing until he knows enough or desires it enough to ask for the really hot stuff himself. I am, as a consequence, keeping the pequin bush (related to but not quite the same) well out of his reach.

[uke.livejournal.com]

I still remember being 7 and eating a hot pepper on purpose because I'd been told that I shouldn't. Boy, was that hot! It took me many minutes of running around screaming until it was all okay again. Of course, I love the stuff now.

[tsjafo.livejournal.com]

*hugs* For both of you! It's a rare child who feels that safe, who loves that well. It's a much rarer adult, parent, who inspires that kind of faith.

[liralen.livejournal.com]

*blush* *hugs* and thanks. I do think it's just the way Jet is, but I *try*... by gosh, I try.

[space-parasite.livejournal.com]

Jet is best!

[liralen.livejournal.com]

*I* think so, but I'm happily biased. My.

[space-parasite.livejournal.com]

Well, it's true that Jet is *genetically* best!