Abby's Alley

Babies are not so different from adults. 

Every once in a while my baby will jerk his arms wide as if he were falling. This is known as the Moro Reflex, and it lasts for the first 3 or 4 months of his life.

It’s like his body isn't used to the world outside the tight embrace of the amniotic sac. He's not so sure about gravity and the wind on his skin. So he jerks in fear. And just as quickly as the baby jerks, he recovers. He pulls his arms in again and the scare is over. Everything is fine.

I have done the same ever since leaving the security of my parents' home where my dad paid for my health insurance and my mom gave me all the positive affirmation I needed. Quite frequently, I jerk in fear. Oh no! I'm falling!

Since Benny was born 8 weeks ago, we've had a garbage disposal kaput, an AC unit fail, a stair railing spindle fall off, a ceiling fan motor start smoking, an outlet fail, a stove's burner stop working, a plumbing back-up, a dishwasher drain leak, our air…

The children came home from Grandma and Grandpa Stevens' house yesterday bubbling with excitement. They had gone to the Orange County Fair on Sunday, and they each made their experiences known to me in their separate ways.

Rose, while hopping up and down in front of my face, told me about the butterfly pavilion and the cotton candy and the bus ride and the corn bins. Her eyes were big and round. Lee made mention of his ice cream and the butterflies as well, but I learned what really fascinated him when we came home and the children played in the living room while I organized their toys.


Rose played Mommy to Benny. She laid her knitted blanket across the couch cushions and asked me to put Benny here and there for her to wrap.

Lee gathered his blankets and pillows into piles and re-enacted the fireworks and explosions that grandpa showed him on the computer.

"Do you know what this one is going to do?" he'd ask me.

"Do you think this one is going to hit the ground?&…