>> I published this post on my Babble Voices blog, and I’m only permitted to post a snippet of it here (below). Read the whole thing and comment on Danoah Unleashed. >>
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I remember when I was married, my step-daughter (she was four at the time) came running in from the backyard in complete hysteria. She was screaming and hollering and jumping around like a frantic lunatic.
I had no idea what was wrong with her. Her eyes told me there was something seriously amiss, but her panic was doing a great job of rendering her unable to speak.
I kept asking her to calm down and tell me what was wrong, and as if some demon didn’t want her to respond, she would explode in untranslatable hysteria every time I did.
I reached out to touch her, now very concerned myself. I’d never seen a child (or anyone) act that way. Before I could touch her, she jumped back. Then she jumped forward. Then she jumped to the side.
“I need to know what’s wrong or I won’t know what to do to help you,” I said, trying to keep my cool.
After what seemed forever, she suddenly froze and looked at me, her eyes bulging red, her cheeks stained with tears. Her little arms were above her. And even though frozen in place, she continued to cry.
“It’s… in… my… shirt!” she wheezed between sobs.
>> I published this post on my Babble Voices blog, and I’m only permitted to post a snippet of it here. Read the whole thing and comment on Danoah Unleashed. >>
