It's been twenty or so years since I last read Robert Louis Stevenson's "Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde." I don't remember much of it, but that's OK because, thanks to my toddler, I live the tale every day. Below is my own strange case of toddler split personality.
Here's Mimi riding her wagon into my office the other morning. Note the massive smile. This is her as Dr. Jekyll: kind, considerate, inquisitive, happy, helpful.
30 minutes later, when it came time to do laundry, she'd morphed into the devious, demonic, and surprisingly whiny Mr. Hyde. I still don't understand what happened. Maybe she just hates the gentle cycle.
These transformations occur at the drop of a hot. Last Friday, I picked Mimi up from daycare. She had insisted on walking down the steps of the daycare herself while holding her bag which weighed more than her. As a reasonably responsible father, I couldn't allow this. Mimi went straight into Mr. Hyde mode, arching her body, flailing and wailing as I carried her down the stairs. I somehow managed to get her out the door.
Upon exiting, Mimi spotted some flowers, which caused her to revert immediately to Dr. Jekyll. Happy, friendly, and cute once again.
This, unfortunately, lasted only as long as we were looking at the flowers.
I thought I had seen the worst of Mimi's Jekyll and Hyde transformations. And then I took her on a trip to Sacramento. We were going up to celebrate the graduation of two of my cousins, one from High School and the other from College. We dressed accordingly.
On the drive up, Mimi managed to switch personalities 97 times. This made life for me, the driver, a bit difficult. Driving is hard enough without a toddler demanding that you sing "Itsy Bitsy Spider" and then throwing chocolate Pocky at your head when you don't.
When we made it to the party, Mimi, confronted with a crowd, decided to channel Mr. Hyde and attack everything put in her path. Even juice.
Eventually, though, Dr. Jekyll came back thanks to some very kind cousins and an inspiring great grandmother. Mimi could've stayed on that swing in Jekyll mode all day.
Of course, all good things must come to an end. It had been a massive day for Mimi and Mr. Hyde, along with at least 50 of his cronies, took full control of Mimi's personality as we headed out the door. Using a hydraulic jack and several crowbars I was eventually able to get Mimi into her car seat. Four minutes after hitting the road, she was out. Cold. Switching personalities takes some serious energy.
We had a great time on our trip, but I do wish Mimi's mood swings could be a little less severe. In Stevenson's story, the dark Mr. Hyde eventually wins out over the kind Dr. Jekyll. Here's to hoping that life is kinder than fiction.
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