I don't like haircuts or ENT check-ups

This is from Friday's visit to the ENT. James hates to have his ears checked, and he hates even more to be held tightly, which is the only way to check his ears because he thrashes. He gets so mad and screams so hard that he breaks the capillaries around his eyes, as you can see from this sad photo (if you click on it, you can see a final tear rolling off the side of his chin). He looked the same way after his haircut last weekend. He stops screaming as soon as he's not being held—and there's no one trying to get at him with an otoscope or shears.

The marks on his face take about a week to go away. For his parents, they're like a slowly fading map of the emotional stress of the visit—it bothers us afterwards more than it does him.