To read the entire "Growing Up: The Cottage" series, and other blog entries I've written about growing up, click here.
I've been writing about my family's summer cottage, a small one-bedroom shack-like structure smack-dab on a lake in upstate New York. My grandfather built it decades before I was even born, and it became a special part of the lives of my grandparents, parents, andso many family members and friends. I recognized it's specialness at a very young age. It became a part of most of my childhood memories worth remembering, and remains just as special today. It's the basis for my love of the water; if you know me you know what I'm talking about. Most of all, it gave me a place to experiment with my toddler alter-ego. I'm writing about some of those experiences here...
The Cottage: Caught... Almost!
I live for the water... always have.
So, for me, winters in New York were tough to deal with.
I mean, seriously... water in New York freezes in the winter. It sucks.
And the lake... while too deep to freeze over, the ground around it made it, at the time, nearly impassable.
So, for me, in the snowiest of weather, the cottage was inaccessible for months at a time.
I missed it.
It wasn't just the summer activities I missed.
It was the fact that, from age sixteen on, the cottage was my place to go to be Baby Cwis.
I was lucky if I could fit in half a day of diaper time at home. My parents or brother were forever coming and going, and there was little opportunity, save hooky days from school, for me to really get into the mindset of a toddler.
But at the cottage, I could go days as my alter-ego.
Stripping down to just a diaper and carrying my bottle and pacifier everywhere, I'd lounge on the beach, sit on the porch, and take naps in the open air in the living room, every window wide open to catch the lake breezes.
From December - March, though... diaper time was difficult.
Which is why, the spring that I turned 17, I couldn't wait to de-adult myself.
The first day the temperature went into the 50s, to the cottage me - and my diaper bag - went.
I remember thinking what a perfect day it was for diapering up.
There was little chance I'd be interrupted. No chance my family would come by... it was in the 50s - too cold for them - and leftover snow was still melting on the ground all throughout the woods which separated the cottage from the main road.
And the neighbors? Not much chance of being bothered by them, either. The ones on the north side lived close, but they rarely visited before June; the neighbors on the south side lived several hours away and visited only on weekends. Today it would be just me, the beach, my blankie, and a Pamper. I was stoked.
The first order of business was opening every window to let the stale winter air out of the inside of the cottage. It was only 50-something outdoors, but the sun was beaming and it warmed the inside of the structure to a much more comfortable temperature very quickly. Within minutes I had fuses plugged in, the refrigerator running, and sheets on the bed.
Next I opened the duffel bag which served as my diaper bag at the time. It was chock full of goodies, things I'd purchased over the winter but hadn't really had a chance to use. Pacifiers... a paci leash, at the time a newer invention... bottles... a rattle... diapers... coloring books and crayons... a Little Golden Book. I was stocked, and ready to become Cwis. It wouldn't be long now...
I crawled around on the floor in my diaper for several hours, sucking on my pacifier and coloring.
It felt so good to be Cwis! I'd been waiting all winter.
I don't know about you, but if you're a true AB you know what I mean. We crave 'toddler time' (or whatever age/phase we regress to), time to get into the mindset of our alter ego and just be little again. Going a whole week as a grownup is torture for some of us. Let alone weeks at a time. And fcking months???
[Collegebabies, I know you hear me! Hard to 'little up' at home, or in the dorms, right?]
So for the better part of an afternoon I played the role. I sucked down juice and soaked myself, then changed my diaper and did it all again. I played the 'bad baby' role, kneeling in the corner for no reason; I played the 'good baby' role and nibbled on melba toast as a reward. I was totally into it, and the fact that my soaked little behind was feeling the chill of a cold floor and chilly temperatures didn't stop my enjoyment; I'd just scoot over into the sunlight and let the rays warm my diaper whenever I started to brrrr.
I remember thinking... this, sir, is a bad idea.
I'd ventured out into the sunlight, dragging my baby blanket along.
Walking up and down the beach, I'd surveyed the damage the winter had done. I spent twenty or thirty minutes picking up sticks and branches washed up by winter waves, walking them over to what would become our fire pit for the season, and tossing them in.
After a while I was chilly, and a little tired.
I spied a sunny spot on the dock, and made my way towards it.
Walking out onto the dock, I set my blanky down directly in the middle of the sunny square. I looked around - up onto the cliff, out into the water, and towards the property on both sides of the cottage. Deserted.
So I lay down.
You probably shouldn't do this, Cwis...
The sunlight had already warmed the blanket, and it felt good to lay down. I let the sun's rays warm the back of my diaper... my bottom was toasty, and my back was feeling nice and warm.
My diaper was dry, but I had to pee. And pee I did, soaking my disposable. I turned over onto my back and let the sun warm up the front of the diaper, and then turned back onto my tummy, letting the back get warm again.
It felt so good to be outside, period. After a nasty winter, to be in my element again - at the cottage, on the water - I was ecstatic. The fact that I was Cwis again only added to my happiness.
I closed my eyes.
In my mind, I was two years old. My family was all around me, enjoying a summer day at the lake. Someone had diapered me and set me on the dock for a nap. Maybe I was in a cradle... maybe a playpen. I began to daydream...
My brother and his friends were skipping rocks into the lake. Someone yelled "watch out for the baby!" as a rock skipped a little to close to me. My brother yelled back "The baby's fine! We're expert skippers!" but the trio changed their direction a bit, and I watched the rocks bounce across the water's surface. It felt good, and I remember being impressed by the older kids' skills, hoping one day I'd be able to skip rocks like them.
My aunt ventured out onto the dock, bending down to check my diaper. "Gooooood boyyyyyyy... all dwyyyyyyy," she said, rubbing my tummy. I giggled a little, and she continued out onto the dock's end, sitting down in a lounge chair relaxing in the sun. My cousins Jimmy and Danica joined her a minute later, walking by me with not so much as a glance. Jimmy carried three sodas, and he passed them out to his mother and sister, and the three sat sipping their drinks and watching boats float by. Every once in a while Jimmy would yell something to a boater, and my aunt would shush him. "Do you want to wake up Little Cwis?" she'd ask. He'd quiet down immediately.
My uncle walked down the steps with a pizza, and the entire family was upon him like seagulls, everyone grabbing a slice. I watched sleepily as my brother and his friends took their slices and a 2-liter of Tab over the the rowboat. They got in and began rowing out towards the dock, my brother reaching his hand into the water and giving me a splash as they passed. The other boys laughed, and I wished I were in the boat, too. My cousins passed me again, Jimmy slurping his soda, and I was suddenly thiwsty. I reached out for it and he laughed, batting my hand away. "Be right back," he said to his sister.
I watched the rest of my family walk past me onto the dock, the smell of pizza wafting in the air. I was hungwy too, now, but I could see the pizza box in the fire pit. There was none left for me. I'd had pizza before! At Jimmy's birthday party! They knew I loved it. It wasn't fair! I watched as each and every member of my family chomped their pizza and slurped down soda. The box taunted me... I wanted to climb out of my cradle and crawl down the dock, punch my uncle in the knee, and grab his slice when he bent over!
"Is Cwissy hungwy?" Jimmy was back, a slice of pizza in his hand. He extended it toward me and I reached for it. "NOT SO FAST!" he said, sounding irritated and looking surprised. He turned and set the slice down on a piling, and I saw what was in his other hand: a jar of Gerber ravioli. Greattttttt... everyone else gets New York PIzzaria, and I get pureed, processed baby food. Jimmy pulled out a spoon with an alligator handle and dug in, scooping out a giant disgusting bite and holding it out. I wished an alligator would come out of the lake and bite him on the butt! I closed my mouth and looked toward his pizza, scowling. "Eatttttttt," he ordered. I reluctantly opened my mouth and took a bite. YUCK! I wanted pizza. Jimmy put the spoon back in the jar and picked up his slice with his free hand, practically waving it under my nose before taking a giant bite. It looked delicious! My eyes followed it from the piling to his mouth and back to the piling and JImmy noticed, laughing. "Does Cwis want pizza like the big kids?" he asked. He held the pizza out toward me and I wanted to hug him! I leaned out of my cradle a little, ready to take a bite, and he yanked the slice back. "When Cwis is a big kid he can have big kid foods," Jimmy said slyly, and someone yelled for him not to tease the baby. Then he was scooping, and the spoon was back with more yech. NOT FAIR! Gerber ravioli isn't even a substitute for real ravioli; certainly not for pizza.
The jar was gone and Jimmy pulled a bottle of milk out of his swimsuit pocket. He held it out and I took it, putting it in my mouth. As I slurped he leaned in towards me, wiping sauce off from around my mouth. As he did, he whispered to me: "Now Cwis has had a nice meal and it's time for him to take a nap. I know you get excited when there's so much stuff going on. I'm going to be looking over here... I want to see your eyes closed and you trying to sleep. If I don't..." Jimmy left it hanging, but I imagined him swatting me when nobody was looking - he'd spanked me once, hard, for just spilling a cup of juice, and none of the grownups had seemed to mind. I closed by eyes and pretended to sleep, and soon Jimmy was back in conversation with the rest of the family.
I lay still, and sun's rays beaming down on me. I almost opened my eyes a little to see if Jimmy was watching me, but each time lost the nerve. Soon I was drifting in and out of consciousness... I felt someone rub my tummy as they passed, but wasn't quite sure who it was. Someone put their finger in my diaper feeling for poop, and patted my bottom when they found none. I sucked on my Nuk, dozing, feeling safe and secure, my family all around me and my needs met; even if I couldn't get pizza, I had just about everything else a toddler could want.
Yip! Yip! Yip!
The neighbor's dog darted out onto the dock, and I heard footsteps and squeals of laughter soon after. I slowly, groggily opened my eyes and looked out, watching their Yorkie pace up and down their dock excitedly.
Wait a minute...
...holy shit!
The neighbor's dog darted out onto the dock, and I heard footsteps and squeals of laughter soon after. I slowly, groggily opened my eyes and looked out, watching their Yorkie pace up and down their dock excitedly.
"C'mon, Mom!" a little girl shouted. "Race you to the dock!"
And suddenly I realized...
...I was 17 again.
A high school junior.
Laying out on the dock. In a diaper.
And the neighbors... were here.
I'd fallen asleep.
I jumped up fast as fuccccck, wrapping my baby blanket around my waist, and waddled down the dock, towards the cottage.
Just as I stepped onto land I saw the form of a child come around the bend. I took three or four giant steps toward the porch, stepping inside and closing the door just as the children passed the fence and came into view.
I was safe...
I remember sitting my diapered bottom down right under the window that borders the neighbor's property.
"Look, Janelle," a man's voice said. "The neighbors have all the windows open. We should do that."
Whew! They must not have seen the cottage yet...
I imagined them being there for an hour or more, walking out onto the dock and seeing 17-yo Chris lounging in Luvs. What would they have thought?
"Should we see if he's home?" the female said, and, startled, I looked at my pants clear across the room by the door. It would be a race on my tummy to the pants if I was to beat them to the door. Just as I began to scoot the man told her to let me be. "He's probably taking a nap..."
I had been. And it had been glorious.
Shocked back into adulthood by the intrusion, I was forced to sit quietly for more than an hour until, having seen their own beloved property on the first spring-like day, the neighbors all piled back into their car for the ride back across town.
I was free to be Cwis again.
But it wasn't quite the same.
I vowed never to fall asleep in a diaper outdoors again.
A vow I'm happy to report I didn't keep.
Coming Soon...
Caught again???????