all this is happening without the complication, frustration, perplexity, unpredictability, and vulnerability of encountering another person with their own needs, expectations, anxieties, and desires. It is, in fact, a one-year-old’s dream—because if we are truthful, as heart-wrenching as it is, the “No! No! No!” of my friend’s niece is not just a desire for connection. It is also a desire to be in charge,
