Ears Johnny!!

True Story.  When I was a very small child, I was afraid of my own shadow. (My family will tell you that I was scared of everything when I was a kid.  Mr. Toad's Wild Ride at Disney World??  Horrifying!)  But, I mean, I was literally afraid of my own shadow.

I must have only been three or four because my hair was still short like it was before it turned into the big, frizzy mess that it is today.  (More on that later.)  The nightlight in my room was casting shadows on the wall next to my bed, and I sat up so I could see my own shadow looming larger than life before me.  What I saw sent ice through my veins.  I quickly turned my back to the wall, covers pulled up the my nose, too afraid to even move.  That couldn't be my shadow.  That was the shadow of some strange, evil monkey-human hybrid sure to drag me screaming under the bed at any moment!  The ears were just too enormous for that shadow to belong to a human.

Sadly, that monkey creature was, in fact, little-ole me.   Twenty-something years later, I am no longer afraid of my own shadow, but I do still have the same ears.  It's not that my ears are particularly big...it's just that they stick out so far from my head.  I am reminded of this every time I get my hair cut and the hairdresser has to apologize for getting the comb stuck on my ridiculously prominent ears yet once again.  On the bright side?  I've never had a problem getting sunglasses to stay on my head.

Now it seems that my daughter has inherited these same ears.  One day there was this loud "Boinnnggg" noise and Maddie's ears just popped out from the side of her head.  It was the strangest thing!

 I happen to think they look adorable on her though.  Little kids with big ears?  SO cute I want to pinch their cheeks.  The ears only become a problem when you hit puberty and they accentuate the painful awkwardness.

 Thankfully, the Baby Jesus has also blessed me with hair like a burlap sac, which is very useful when it comes to camouflaging my ears.

Since Madeline flies the same ginger flag as her mumma, it seems likely that she will also have hair like a burlap sac, and will thus be able to hide her ears....

At least, I think so.

P.S.  Don't worry grandparents, I realize my baby is probably the most beautiful baby to ever grace the universe.  You don't have to remind me.