Friday, October 05, 2007

Bad Mommy, Part II



Everyday Henri picks an item that he will fixate on and hold for several hours whether he's crawling, going for a walk or going with me to do errands. It's rarely a toy of course. When we went to the aquarium, it was a small plastic packet of butter that he stole from the bread basket at lunch. He held onto it past the shark tank, the touch tank and even the kids' play area. He only decided to relinquish it during the seal feeding, when apparently he thought JoJo would like some butter with his raw, frozen fish.

So the other day, I thought nothing when he grabbed my little bottle of Michel Cluizel chocolate nibs. He liked to shake it and hear the rattle. He held onto it in the car and wouldn't let it go when I put him in his stroller. It was only when I was in the shoe store getting dirty looks that I realized how peculiar this looked, because the container is designed to look exactly like a prescription bottle.

"That's not medicine, it's chocolate," I found myself telling complete strangers. Still, I could feel the glare of other moms as I strolled past them and Henri gleefully shook the bottle of Mommy's Little Helper. I know, I know: Bad Mommy!

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