Strange Bedfellows
When Lisa is away, there are a few things you can count on. There will be pizza. There will be cartoons. And James will sleep in our bed.I had forgotten that last rule. But last night as I toddled off to bed (I'm not sure what that means, but Dad used to say it), I saw his door wide open and remembered his pattern. So I went into our room and saw him, covered him up, gave him a kiss, and got ready for bed.
And so the long night began.
After checking my alarm, I climbed in beside the boy, moved him over so he wasn't completely in the middle, then turned over to sleep. Something was still crowding me so I reached back and felt his huge, disgusting slipper. I tossed it out of the bed, grabbed around until I found the other one and tossed it too. Time to sleep.
No, no, there's still something there. Ahhhh, Wiggly Snaky, James' enormous stuffed snake. Okay, I moved him to the other side, James somehow instinctively feeling the move as he turned with him, clutching Wiggly up to his chin. There we go. Time to sleep.
Relaxing. Calm. Fading. Fading. KICKED IN THE SPINE! Ow ow ow ow ow. Moved him over. Pushed his legs down. Relaxing again. KNEE TO THE TAILBONE! Man! Ow! Pushed him over to the very brink of falling out, pushed his legs down.
And so on. I got punched and jabbed quite a few times and I asked myself quite a few times why I let the boy do this. And then, in the dead of night, a small hand reached over and found my arm. He stroked it a few times and then just rested his hand there, safe with Daddy. This morning, the first thing I saw was his sweet face and bright eyes. And all of the pokes and jabs and punches were forgotten. What a sweet boy.
And, as my eyes came fully open, he began to talk. He was still talking after I dropped him off at school.
posted by Thurman8er @ 9:17 AM
5 Comments:
I love your boy.
If toddlers toddle, what do preschoolers do? If a fly loses its wings, does it become a walk? If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat?
These are the questions that keep me up nights.
Aahhh...very sweet.
Does anybody have any special pills for our special friend Wendy? I'm worried about her...;)
Just love how the little hands always find a way to soothe all the worries of the day! I am fortunate all the jabs and ouch's go to daddy, He just loves it!
That's a great story. I remember when our son used to do the same thing.
Funny thing about the hands. A small boy was sitting in front of us today with his mum and dad but I was actually watching his cute little hand hold on to his daddy's arm and even give his dad's back a rub. I thought how cute little hands can be, how touching they are and how gentle. Then I read your post. It all fits together!
I remember those nights as not the most restful, but certainly the more enjoyable nights of parenting!
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