Babies cry a lot

Prior to Addie's arrival, I knew that babies cried a lot. However, I knew that as soon as a baby started crying, I could count on their parents to take care of them. Now that I am a parent, I know that I have no idea how to stop Addie from crying--save hand her to Anna. Anna seems to have a better grasp of this than I do, but I'm slowly picking it up. From my reading on the Internet, and what everyone told us at the hospital, apparently Addie is crying either because she is: a) hungry, b) needs a new diaper, or c) wants to sleep.

I know I'm a new parent, and I'm probably in no position to reintrepret thousands of years of parenting wisdom--but I think that Addie is not hungry, in need of a new diaper, or tired. I think that she's worried about the economy. When she says "wah"--I hear "Dad, with the economy in turmoil, the dollar weakening against the Euro, and the presidential race becoming more vitriolic by the day, how am I to have assurance that my economic future is accounted for?"

This question, again, phrased as "wah," troubled me. I tried to tell Addie that the dollar strengthened against the Euro on Friday, that new home sales were up two percent during the first quarter of 2008, and Bear Sterns is being reevaluated at a higher buyout price. Surely, I said to Addie, this must raise your spirits, as many experts believe that these factors point against an economic recession--isn't that great?

Again, she responded with "wah," and her cries continued unabated. How could I respond to Addie when she laid forth such a strong rebuttal? Given the fact that I couldn't convince her that downs are a natural foil to the ups of a market economy, I decided that she probably wanted Anna. I hope that she can better explain the free market. Or, Anna will feed her, change her diaper, and put her to sleep--which is probably what Addie wanted in the first place. Give me a break; I'm learning.