Obsessions: Part Two

Earlier I posted about your obsession with the Doodlebops. Interestingly enough, that obsession has waned in it's intensity quite a bit over the past few months. You still request Doodlebops videos from time to time, but it's much more managable.

I've observed several other obsessions this week that got me thinking. Number one has to be your blankie(s). I put plural on the end of that because one is never enough. Two is a bare minimum and the more the better. You are picky about your blankies - they aren't really blankets at all but those little hooded terrycloth towels that they sell at Wal-Mart. Pink is the color of choice, but pattern doesn't seem to matter so much. Sometimes you tote around so many of them at once that you can barely walk. They are your comfort when you get a boo boo or get upset, they are a requirement for going to sleep. You use them to clean things, wipe your face (whether that means chocolate or tears), swaddle baby dolls, and you are known to ball them up into a makeshift pillow when riding in the car seat. Not having a blanket has caused many trips to be cut short, as we returned home to fetch one, and once we even made an emergency Super Wal-Mart trip just to get a blankie.

Another obsession is with rubber bouncy balls. Unfortunately every restaurant seems to have a quarter operated machine that vends these pesky toys right at the entrance, so I have little hope of escaping without either buying yet another ball, or facing a tantrum. I'm afraid I'm often just too much of a softy on that point. In any case, any time mommy doesn't give in, there's usually some church person who can't resist adding to the collection. Our favorite Mexican restaurant in Ahoskie, Los Amigos, has such a ball machine, and I think as I type this I can spot at least 5 balls from that particular machine scattered across the living room floor. You just love them - throwing them and yelling "catch!" Using them in your shape sorter or the ball shoot on your Fisher Price play house...

Other obsessions that come to mind include:

• cleanliness - you can't stand to have anything on your hands or face
• shoes - you love to put them on, whether yours or other peoples'
• ice - if anyone crunches on a piece of ice, watch out! You'll be begging for some in no time.
• Elmo - what two-year-old ISN'T obsessed with Elmo?
• water - especially splashing in it, whether in the sink, the tub, or the pool
• swinging - it is the ONLY thing you want to do when we go to the park
• Jessica - your "DeDa" as you call her takes priority over everyone else
• action figures - specifically your Daddy's old 1980's figures, some of which he lets you play with in the "Man-man" closet.
  

I don't know if you just have a little streak of obsessive compulsive in you (your Uncle Joe certainly did when he was little) or if it's just another manifestation of your strong personality. Most of the time, these are just endearing quirks - sometimes, they can be real battle issues, and often are the source of the few temper tantrums you actually throw. I wonder how many of these intense "likes" will remain with you as you grow older.