Violet's Homage to Gorbachev

Violet’s baby acne came and went about six weeks ago. It was strange to see, those blemishes on a little person that your gut tells you should be so pure. The books and the doctors all shrugged it off. “It’s very common,” they said. “You don’t need to do anything. It’ll clear up on its own,” but we couldn’t help but feel as though we’d done something wrong. And now cradle cap has arrived (either that, or Violet’s caught a flesh-eating bacteria). What started as a reddish, quarter-sized spot on the back of her head, has blossomed into an Antarctica-shaped mass of flaky, brownish lumps all over the back of her head, with a few islands of red on her forehead (New Zealand?). Again, the doctors and the books tell us not to fret – that it doesn’t bother Violet and we should just leave it alone, but it’s hard not to feel that something should be done (and Linda’s a picker from way back). Linda didn’t want to take any pictures tonight; she felt we shouldn’t capture Violet’s head in such a state, but when I sat down to write this post, I thought of Violet’s birth. At the time, Linda forbid any pictures or video of the delivery and I agreed, but afterwards, when the realization of how little any of us remember of even the most memorable experience set in, we regretted the decision. I’m figuring that 3 months, 3 years, or 30 years from now, when Violet’s cradle cap is a distant memory, we’ll be okay with the picture below.

116 days old