I'll cry if I want to...

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, the average newborn cries 1-4 hours per day, gradually decreasing to an average of 14 minutes per day by 12 weeks. Ash is a generally calm, even-tempered kiddo, but of course he still cries, each and every day. Some days more than others, some days very little. Two things that Ash doesn't seem to care for very much occur at bedtime, unfortunately. While he enjoys his evening bath, getting OUT of the bath is another story entirely. I can't blame him - I hate those few moments of chill that happen when you're out of the water and getting dried off. No fun. He's also not a big fan of getting dressed, which is step #2 in the bedtime routine (getting undressed isn't his favorite, either, for that matter, though he seems to tolerate it somewhat better). This combination is sure to produce some consternation and tears, so we just motor through it as quickly as possible and he's usually right as rain after the PJs are on.

Tonight as we were going through this process and Ash was acting like it was the absolute most terrible thing that could ever happen to him, I wondered what it would be like if people never grew out of that phase. What if we, as grown adults, just wailed and cried every time something annoyed or irritated or upset us? I'm not just talking about moodiness or pregnancy hormones (Staci) or having a bad day, I'm talking about routinely spending approximately one hour per day crying. How bizarre would that be? The alarm clock goes off - burst into tears; the water doesn't get warm RIGHT AWAY - Niagara Falls; your nuggets at Chick-Fil-A aren't crispy enough - total meltdown (OK, so that's an actual example and the crier in question was pregnant, but you get the idea). And think of how tiring it would be for your emotions to be that raw! I am, without question, a crier. Happy, sad, frustrated, tired, nervous - these are all emotions that may cause (and have caused) me to cry. Sometimes a good cry is just what I need, and there's nothing like it. But I'm usually exhausted afterwards (depending on how good of a cry it was), so I can't imagine doing it every single day.

Anyway, there's my random thought for the day. I can't think of a tidy way to wrap up my blog post...I think I'll go cry about it.