Dear Diary,
I don’t know about you, but sometimes I get upset. I get scared, or mad, or overwhelmed by any number of things. I’m never really sure what to do about it but I’ve discovered one thing that really helps me calm myself down: squashing.
It’s an art, really. Proper squashing can be accomplished in a number of different ways, and I like to innovate and seek out new and different methods. You’ve gotta keep it fresh, you know?
I’ll give you a few examples, including the one I’ve shown you above. That one is mama’s arm. She wanted me to take a nap today and I was really tired because not only did Meow come, she brought someone new with her and that always wears me out. It’s hard to have new people here and I had to leave the room several times. Plus then my cousins came over after and we played for a long time! Anyway, Diary, all that to say that I didn’t mind the idea of a nap. The thing was, I couldn’t get to sleep. I wanted to, but the wiggles got in me and I was flipping like an egg in a frying pan. I knew I needed some help to quit it so I could sleep! Sometimes I pull daddy’s really heavy pillow on top of me so that it squashed me, then I wriggle until I’m comfy and drift off to sleep. But today I didn’t want daddy’s pillow. My other go-to for falling asleep is grabbing mama’s arm and squashing myself with it. Usually I have to hold it in place by hugging it really hard against me. Mama seems to be worried I’m gonna choke myself but she’s silly. I always make sure her arm is on my cheek and not my neck. Duh. So today I used her arm and BAM, I was sleeping.
Some of my other favorite ways to get squashed are:
– getting super hard hugs from mama and daddy
– squashing myself between the screen door and the glass door (that one is really good when I have no one to help squash me)
– squeezing in behind mama on the couch or when she’s sitting on the big bed and pulling her back on top of me (bonus: this one is also a game since she says SQUASH every time!)
– pressing my face really hard against the couch or the ottoman
– having mama or daddy give me uppies and getting them to squash me against the back door.
I don’t know what it is, Diary, that makes me calm down so much when I get squashed. But I know that if I get upset all I need to do is grab my nearest parent and have them give me uppies and a few squashes really hard against them. Every time they do, whatever is bothering me seems less important and I can pull myself together. It’s such a relief to get smooshed and all the noise in my head and the THINGS around me get quiet.
Sleeping Squashily,
Finn