There was the cutest 2-year-old girl in the hair shop last week and, God bless her daddy and that stylist! After they got through the detangling, washing and conditioning, she was over it. And they hadn’t gotten anywhere near the styling part.
As she cried and twisted, waving her arms and shaking her head, her dad pleaded with her to calm down. He offered her every snack, toy and Disney show you could imagine. Do you want fruit snacks, do you wanna watch Mickey, do you want water or juice, and on and on. Baby girl had an entire convenience store of options presented to her and she was not amused.
Sometimes you need to walk it off
I’d been making silly faces and smiling at her since I walked in. She even shared a fruit snack with me from her grubby little hands that I handed to my stylist to throw away when the little girl wasn’t looking. Do not eat fruit snacks directly from a grubby little hands. I didn’t want to intrude too much because the dad was trying his best…but seeing how she took to my calming voice and silly faces, I made a suggestion.
In a sing songy voice I told the little girl, “It’s ok baby girl, sometimes you just have to walk it off.” She’d been sitting or being held for a while and I could tell that she needed a break. The dad took the hint and slowly backed away, asking the baby if she wanted to “walk it off.” She enthusiastically shook her head yes, slid those little chunky legs down from her high chair, stepped into her Crocs and stared pacing back and forth.
She took a few deep breaths, played with the beads in her hair and wiped her tears. In a moment of clarity she said, “Fruit snacks!” All she needed was to walk it off, collect her thoughts and decide what she needed to get through the rest of the appointment.
Get out of your head and into your body.
Allow your feelings to cycle through without your interference.
Use the walk to…
- Decide how you feel – not how someone is expecting or asking you to feel
- Get clear on what you want (totally ok if it’s just fruit snacks)
- Work out any areas of tension to help you think clearer
- Shift your perspective – you may need something that has nothing to do with the issue you’re facing
We can learn so much from babes, right?
Are you sitting with something that’s got you all twisted up? Walk it out.