Day +496: Goodbye Waah Baby, Wherever You Are!
Hard to believe this could happen, but Waah Baby has gone missing and it doesn't look like she's coming back. Keri and the kids met Amber at a restaurant in the Marina District on Tuesday, and Mina brought Waah Baby with her to say hi to Amber. Amber was taking the kids from the restaurant so Keri could work on her lecture, and in the confusion Waah Baby got left behind. By the time they figured out what had happened, it was already evening and they hadn't seen Waah Baby at the restaurant. I ended up driving down there late Tuesday night in the hopes of spurring a more thorough search of the restaurant, but to no avail. I called back and talked to the manager on Wednesday, and he remembered the group and had helped clean up the tables, but hadn't seen a baby doll. He's aware of the importance of the situation and said they would call if she turned up.
I was worried this would be a really difficult situation, but Mina is actually handling it very well. I think Keri and I are more upset about it than Mina; we're actually sick to death about it. Waah Baby was like a member of the family, with all she had been through with us. All that time in the hospital, all the tape and tubies and wires that had been sticking out of her at various times. Even though her voice was gone and she was black on her front from all the tape and bandages that had been put on and off, she was still Mina's baby, and Mina loved her like a real baby. The new Waah Baby that she got for Christmas last year has become Isaac's Waah Baby, and she gave me the American Girl doll that she got a couple of years ago that she named Home Baby. Keri still has her "Chad Doll" from when she was a little girl, so we each had a baby to play with. Since Tuesday Mina's been "borrowing" either Home Baby or Chad Doll to play with and seems to be OK with it.
Of course, she doesn't fully realize that Waah Baby isn't coming back. She's been saying "Waah Baby's not lost. We will find her." She's been lost before and we've always found her, but she'd always been lost in either the car or the house. This morning she said "Maybe an alligator got her." I said no, an alligator didn't get her. "Or maybe a fox." I said no, a fox didn't get her. Keri and I haven't yet figured out a strategy for how to deal with the situation. I did tell Mina that Home Baby wasn't really my baby, that I had just been borrowing her and that she was really Mina's baby (which is 100% true, of course). She repeated that several times and it seemed to make sense to her, but she's been referring to her as Daddy's Baby for so long that I suspect it's firmly cemented in her mind. She's become less attached to Waah Baby in recent months, which is part of the reason why she's ben lost so often, so maybe she'll be OK. Still, I'm guessing there's a meltdown or three in our future when the chips are down and she really wants her baby.
Things are good otherwise. Keri is flying up to Seattle tomorrow to spend her 39th birthday with her twin, then flying back early Sunday morning for a meeting at Mina's preschool. Mina starts preschool next Wednesday, and is very excited. Keri's class is going well; she's teaching "Muslim Cultures" to eight students at the University of San Francisco, which is a pretty good private university that's about a five minute drive from our house. No word on any of the blood tests that they've been running on Mina, but no news is good news as far as we're concerned. I'll update again if there is any news about Waah Baby.
I was worried this would be a really difficult situation, but Mina is actually handling it very well. I think Keri and I are more upset about it than Mina; we're actually sick to death about it. Waah Baby was like a member of the family, with all she had been through with us. All that time in the hospital, all the tape and tubies and wires that had been sticking out of her at various times. Even though her voice was gone and she was black on her front from all the tape and bandages that had been put on and off, she was still Mina's baby, and Mina loved her like a real baby. The new Waah Baby that she got for Christmas last year has become Isaac's Waah Baby, and she gave me the American Girl doll that she got a couple of years ago that she named Home Baby. Keri still has her "Chad Doll" from when she was a little girl, so we each had a baby to play with. Since Tuesday Mina's been "borrowing" either Home Baby or Chad Doll to play with and seems to be OK with it.
Of course, she doesn't fully realize that Waah Baby isn't coming back. She's been saying "Waah Baby's not lost. We will find her." She's been lost before and we've always found her, but she'd always been lost in either the car or the house. This morning she said "Maybe an alligator got her." I said no, an alligator didn't get her. "Or maybe a fox." I said no, a fox didn't get her. Keri and I haven't yet figured out a strategy for how to deal with the situation. I did tell Mina that Home Baby wasn't really my baby, that I had just been borrowing her and that she was really Mina's baby (which is 100% true, of course). She repeated that several times and it seemed to make sense to her, but she's been referring to her as Daddy's Baby for so long that I suspect it's firmly cemented in her mind. She's become less attached to Waah Baby in recent months, which is part of the reason why she's ben lost so often, so maybe she'll be OK. Still, I'm guessing there's a meltdown or three in our future when the chips are down and she really wants her baby.
Things are good otherwise. Keri is flying up to Seattle tomorrow to spend her 39th birthday with her twin, then flying back early Sunday morning for a meeting at Mina's preschool. Mina starts preschool next Wednesday, and is very excited. Keri's class is going well; she's teaching "Muslim Cultures" to eight students at the University of San Francisco, which is a pretty good private university that's about a five minute drive from our house. No word on any of the blood tests that they've been running on Mina, but no news is good news as far as we're concerned. I'll update again if there is any news about Waah Baby.
posted by Arne Olson @ 10:14 PM
1 Comments:
At 4:32 PM PDT,
Anonymous said…
Arne: I talked to Keri and Teri yesterday on their birthday. Happy Birthday to the twins, who had a chance to celebrate in a much better time and space than the last time they were together on their birthday!! thankfully. Anyway, the subject of the loss of Waah Baby came up and I wondered aloud if maybe it wasn't time to lose her in favor of maybe a "Yeah Baby" or a "Happy Baby" or some other such memory builder. Waah baby was there with you all for the time that she was needed, to work out the dressing changes, the masks etc....sometimes we have to let go of some memories for better ones to be built in the future. (just a little reframing of the incident) It may have just been her time to go away. I was talking to Ker and i said that this might sound a bit harsh in typing, as you can't hear my voice and care and concern, but she said, write it anyway. For what it is worth, there you have it. God bless you. I think you are an amazing dad!!
Tutu
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