As I put this site together and try to organize all of the random thoughts that cross my mind on any given day…all the things I would want you to know in my absence…all the stories of your childhood that you’ll enjoy reading to your own children, I’m remembering stories I’ve either shared with friends and family in person or as short Facebook posts…stories of the things going on in our life at any given moment in time. As I start to add to this “Daily Grind” chapter, I’ve been putting a lot of thought and consideration into what the opening of this chapter should be. I can come up with nothing better than the following story I originally wrote as a Facebook post on February 21, 2011:
We finally assembled the bunk beds for the boys that we bought back in December. That was a 3 hour process that surprisingly, went rather well (I’ve always been better at breaking than building/fixing…hence the reason I’m not in construction.) Tonight, our family night consisted of Ju driving the kids in circles in the parking lot while I was at the chiropractor for 45 minutes. I’m usually a once-a-week popper of the spine, but life has kept me from it for 5 weeks, so extra maintenance required a longer visit than intended.
A quick run to the grocery store and Target for some plastic sheets for the new bunk beds and new shoes for the boys. NE wanted nothing to with any shoe except Lightning McQueen. The red lights in the lightning bolts on the sides amaze him, and he walked around all night saying, “Lie Queen. Kachow! Kachow! Kachow”! He rocks. Afterward, we stopped at the pet store for some feeder fish for our Oscar. At home, we all sat and watched as Oscar (Ostrich is his SD-given name) ate 8 of 9 within about 5 minutes. The lone survivor found refuge in the corner behind the heater. At SD’s instruction, I chased him out of the corner so Ostrich could get to him, but he found his way back to the safety of the heater. I told her that he’s earned the right to live another hour or so, so we’ll leave him be. Honestly, the older I get, the more enjoyment I get from watching this than from what’s on TV anymore.
It’s 9:45. The boys went to “bed” at 8:00. NE likes the new bed so far, although he gets scared on top so he’s up and down between beds. Unfortunately, Bubba loves the new bed even more. While he has moved from his crib to NE’s old crib/toddler bed, it’s not working out so well right now…he is NOT ready to be in a bed without 4 sides. So, tomorrow I’ll add the 4th side back to it to convert it back to a crib. He was bouncing on the toddler bed earlier and did a somersault out onto the floor. Never once flinched and got right back up for more. On my 8th trip to their room to investigate the commotion, Bubba is on the top bunk with NE. He’s wearing his bike helmet. I guess he figures a somersault off the top bunk requires a little extra safety gear. Note to self, I need to put safety bar over the ladder tomorrow.
On a subsequent trip, (by this point I’ve actually lost count…it was a lot!), I told NE to just let Bubba crawl in with him on the lower bunk if he kept getting in his bed and crawling in with him. On Ju’s next trip to investigate the commotion, NE had indeed followed my direction. Bubba was in bed with him…and had NE in a headlock. I really need to convert his toddler bed back into a crib tomorrow.
On the umpteenth trip NE made to our room to tell us how SI has again crawled out of bed, I’m done. I’ve moved into their room and sitting on the floor as I finish writing this. I think we’re making progress. 🙂
As a postscript to this story, it’s March 6th. Two weeks have passed since we put your new bed together. NE, you’re not so sure about the top bunk at night yet, so you’ve been sleeping on the bottom. I can understand that. It is a big bed for such a small child. Your little body doesn’t even take up 1/4 of the available space. SI, I really should have listened to my own advice from the above story. I still have not put the 4th side back on the crib yet, so you easily “escape” your 3-sided bed. At least we’re down to only about 30-45 minutes of sending you back to bed before you finally give up the fight and let sleep get the better of you. Every night, though, you wake up at least once…more often than not several times, and every night, the pitter-patter of your little feet fills the silence of the night as you make your way to our room. Over and over again.
Love,
Dad