Don't pee your bed before dawn
Constipation Nation, toddlers, and summit fever
My daughter languished on the bottom step, crackers scattered around her, and her stuffed otter nearby admiring her in repose. It was 7 pm and we were late for bedtime, so when I said we needed to go upstairs, she didn't fight me. I watched as she carefully gathered her two remaining crackers, stacking them square so that she could fit them both in one chubby fist, then held Ott-Ott in the crook of her elbow, and with her other hand, she grabbed the banister. She proceeded to go up the steps. Normally, she holds my finger. That day, she didn't. Determined to go up by herself, she first took big ten steps, and then, as she tired, her knees came up, next one, knee, pull, knee, pull, and just as she was near the top of the stairs, with three more steps to go, she looked back at me, and she faltered.
“Mommy!”, she cried. “Help!”
I said, “You've gone this far. Keep on going, you can do it, honey. Good job!”
“Mommy,” she reached out for me, “Mommy, Mommy.”
Just as I was about to pick her up, her mother and her sister appeared at the top of the stairs, the “emotional support baby”, we call her, with her smiling face shining down to see her big sister climbing up the stairs on her own, and so Frankie made it to the top of the stairs amongst cheers and kisses.
This reminds me of two things: One is an old Chinese proverb that my parents always said to me: “Lum teen gong lai niu”, which translates into, “You peed the bed just before dawn”. It means “You almost made it through successfully, but start to make mistakes right near the end.” Also, I recently learned in my Strategic Leadership class about something called “summit fever”. Near the top of a mountain, climbers start messing up, either it's because they mistakenly believe they made it to the top and they can start relaxing, or they're more careless. I don't know if this proverb has been drummed into my head my whole life but when I used to run 5ks, I wouldn't stop until I crossed the finish line. In fact, in the last 10 seconds, once I saw the white banner, I would put my head down and run as fast as I could with what I had left. I thought of this now as my book is about to be published. It goes on sale next week. We're so close to the finish line, yet there are many miles left to go. It would be easy now to rest on my laurels and say it's done, but the work is never done. I have interviews lined-up and some local publicity that’s up to me to set up, bookplates to sign, and alma maters to email about stocking my book. And then there's the question of the next book. I’m in for a lifetime of writing and if I stopped now, I would be stopping short, and we need a strong finish.
My daughter ran straight into her bedroom from the top step, not passing Go!, not collecting $200. I went to her little table and chairs and asked for tea, which she handed me in a blue plastic glass. We clinked glasses in a toast and then sipped our imaginary beverages. Allowing ourselves to relish, for a brief moment, our success.
Until next time, always go black tie.
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