It reminded me of some "wild things" that I met in Africa. I don't know what it is about naughty children, but I find them to be a tiny bit more precious than the good ones. Don't get me wrong there's nothing better than a well mannered child (and I certainly was one), but there's just something about taming a "wild thing" that is special
It specifically reminded me of this wild thing. He's Mama Marie's baby from this post. (I wish I could take credit for this photo, but one of the women on the team took it, and its definitely my favorite picture from the trip!) I love this kid! He's definitely a mama's boy and until the last two weeks of my trip he could not be pried from his mother's arms without screaming like a banshee.I developed a three pronged system to tame him, though. It involved feeding him various fruits like he was an Arabian sheik, then never standing still, keeping him in constant motion, and finally humming several classic rock songs in succession in a low and comforting tone.
The sweetest thing, though, is when a "wild thing" after all the wild struggling falls asleep in your arms, and even though this kids was hefty to begin with, and completely a dead weight when sleeping it was lovely to hold him and kiss his chubby cheeks, and enjoy his peaceful face while he was sleeping.
I don't really have any great spiritual truth or lesson learned from this, just that a wild thing tamed is a precious thing. Until they wake up, that is : ) Mama Marie actually asked me to take him back to America with me in a fit of exhaustion, I said no mostly because I don't think there are enough fruits and classic rock songs to keep this kid calm on a 16 hour flight!
