Eyes in the Back of My Head

Thanks to the determination of my spousal unit, the gas line is repaired, inspected and back online. As I stood under the steamy hot water to wash away the last remnants of sleep this morning, I was thankful once again for Trevor. Had he been in China when this happened, I might be standing over a basin of water heated in the microwave trying to wash my hair. Now I'm not a complete dunce....it would have been fixed eventually, but it wouldn't have been as quick. So thank you, Trevor! Thank you for my shiny clean hair and freshly shaved legs!

I was awakened at the ungodly hour of 4am by my eldest. He was nearly in tears as he told me about the aliens at his Gran's house and of the red wasp that was in his mouth. I gently took him back to his bedroom and laid with him in the wedge of light produced by the closet. It didn't take him long to fall asleep and as I was walking back to my own room, I wondered for the billionth time how the human brain works while we are sleeping. I've certainly had my share of strange dreams....who hasn't? But it never ceases to amaze (and sometimes horrify) me how real dreams can seem. I've literally awakened in tears from grief or pain. And how many times have I opened my eyes after dreaming and been mad at Trevor for something he didn't even do?!

As Nathan was sitting at the bar eating his oatmeal this morning, he seemed completely unaffected by his nocturnal visions. When I asked him about the dreams, he said something offhanded about wasps in his mouth, but without the terror of his earlier confession. He had already moved on to something else, primarily bothering his baby sister who was sitting next to him. Which brings me to another subject: siblings.

Over the course of the last few months, Trevor and I have become full-time mediators. We knew it would happen eventually, but we had hoped that our utopia would last a little longer than it did! Nathan and Gracie appear to be engaged in an ongoing battle for territory. "That's my chair! That's my coloring book! Get out of my room!" It is not limited to inanimate objects either. "Gracie touched my arm! Nathan pinched me! Gracie sat on my chest! Nathan won't share!" It goes on and on and on. Recently I have noticed an annoying itching on the back of my head. Could it be that my eyes are coming in? Maybe the sound of children arguing activates the hormone that encourages ocular growth through the scalp. I'm going to need every edge against these kids. The 2 year old already knows how to play the bloodcurdling scream card to her advantage, the 5 year old has the innocent "who me?" look down pat.

Now, I realize that I am not experiencing anything new to parenthood. I can recall territory battles from my own childhood. But I am just now appreciating how close Patrick and I came to sending my parents to the insane asylum. If we had known how close we were to being homeless orphans, we might have taken a step back and reconsidered our behavior. Or not. I think it is a function of being a child that allows to you to be completely oblivious to everything around you....and some people maintain that "childlike" state throughout their adulthood!

So, I pray every morning for a double portion of patience and wisdom, so that I will be a calm mediator for the kids and be able to correctly discern the culprit from the victim. I'm just waiting on the eyes.......