16 July, 2014

It was a dark and stormy night -- oh yes, it was

16 July 2014
744

R. Linda:

Tonya had gone to Jersey to visit her sister. Sister had a baby recently (I mentioned that to you I believe) and so big sister winged her way down to help out the new mom and dad. With everything going on here and us being so busy I thought it was a good idea for Tonya go for a long weekend and the kiddos and I would be spending quality time together. That's what I thought anyway.

After seeing Tonya off on a very early flight, the kiddos and I went home to go back to bed, but you know when you are overly tired it's hard to just fall back into sleep mode no matter how much you want to. As a result only one of us, the middle child Guido, was able to do that and he did it sitting up propped against a wall, a Legos character in one hand and the other just dropped on the floor in exhaustion. The eldest, O'Hare was zooming around the room dumping toys everywhere and I could do little about that because the baby was wailing up a storm he was missing his Mamma.

All day long it seemed I got no rest for me weary bones. If I wasn't picking up toys that were a danger to me staying upright, I was pouring chocolate milk or making peanut butter and jelly sannies. In between all this, I was getting bottles for the baby and changing his nappies.

I planned a movie night so I went out and rented Frozen, though they've already seen it, I was sure all that singing and silly girly empowerment stuff would put them out like lights. Well, they complained they'd rather see Shreck, but that movie has more action than Frozen and the kiddos were more likely to act out characters in Shreck than anyone in Frozen. So I put me foot down and made them sit on the couch to watch while I popped up some popcorn and denied them Mountain Dew (which would wire them instead of doing what I wanted, go to sleep). I even thought of making turkey sannies because of the melatonin in them and that would make them sleepy. But they only wanted popcorn and to complain about "Who eats popcorn with milk I wanna know?"

"Well, you do," I said to a complaining O'Hare.

"It ain't fair havin' to watch us a girlie movie when we want SHRECK and eat popcorn with milk!" O'Hare battled back.

"Dis sucks it iz like havin' Weasil as a father!" Guido declared glaring at me as he put down his glass of milk. "Ya dunt expects us to drink dis stuff does ya?"

WOW, to be compared to Weasil was just . . . awful. BUT I held me ground it was milk and no sugary drinks of any kind.

Somehow we got through 3/4 of the movie. There was a lot of sighing, shifting positions, blowing out air, to such an extent I asked them if they'd rather just go to bed. Surprise to me, they took me up on it and marched upstairs. Luckily baby went to bed before the movie and was sound asleep, which was one down and two to go and a good thing -- to me at least.

When I got upstairs their room was strewn with Legos everywhere. I ordered clean up and was told by O'Hare that the mess was all Guido's who reluctantly admitted it was. I told O'Hare to brush his teeth, jump into bed, and put his light out and Guido would do the same once all was cleaned up. With that, I went back downstairs.

There was no moon that night, and rain and wind had come in just about the time I escorted the two kiddos upstairs. I thought it would be a perfect night to catch up on some writing so I turned off the lights as I went and decided to use my wife's computer downstairs (because I didn't want to disturb the boyos by going to me loft upstairs), so I started working on a story for you (not this one).

It was a dark and stormy night -- quite literally

I had been at it for maybe 45 minutes when I heard a sound behind me. It didn't really register until I heard the sound again and I turned to look into the dark shadows of the hallway but I didn't see anything. I turned back to the computer screen when I heard, "Ah hem!" which had me quickly turn around to be looking at some dark small shape with points like devil's horns standing right behind me. I switched the lights on quickly, nearly jumping out of me skin to see THIS:

Yes I was visited by BatBoy in the dead of night, a dark stormy night at that

I sat back down staring at this dark apparition on a dark, stormy night. It said in a very deep and cryptic voice, "Batman has a message for ya, Batman doesn't like chores, chores suck!"

"Uh ok, but does Batman know if Guido has cleaned up all the Legos and gone to bed like a good boyo?" I asked playing along.

"Batman helped him! It wasn't fair he hadda do clean up by hiz self!" The deep voice said as if I should be ashamed of meself.

"Okay then. I got the message, Batman, now I will assume you want to leave as stealthily as you entered before I go up to check on Guido and O'Hare?"

"Yezz but let dis be a warnin' ta yerself." The deep voice said as it majestically swept around cape flapping behind him, but then he stopped, put the cape up to his face again and gave me a parting shot before disappearing up the stairs, "An no more girlie movies fer Guido and O'Hare!" With that, he was gone.

I sat there and chuckled to meself, completely out of story writing mode. I decided to switch off the lights and go up too, but not before I made sure Batman morphed back into Guido. By the time I slowly reached the boyos room, their lights were out and I could hear O'Hare snoring, but Guido was in bed feigning sleep like I didn't know he was Batman. I closed their door and put the hallway lights on so I could make sure there were no toys to trip over. As I reached me bedroom I got a thought for the story I was working on prior and so went to me loft and quietly started to write the thought down when suddenly there was a flicker of lights from the storm. I stopped writing, looked up, and the flickering stopped. I went back to me writing when I thought I had noticed something unusual sitting by the door when I looked up at the lights. I did, there sitting next to the baby gate was THIS:

I tell ya! Creep me out more why doesn't he

There just sitting still staring at me through slits in the Batman mask was me dog! Me Irish Red and White Setter! I was like what the hell be this then? There was a note on the floor that must have fallen off Batdog and it said, "Ima watchin' ya! signed Batman."

How perfect to have the watchdog watching me. OK!

"You poor thing, come here girl let me take that off you," I said and nothing. She just sat there content to stare at me through the eye slits. I got up and when I did she went tearing around the room, jumped the gate and was gone flying down the hall, her cape waving in the breeze of her motion.

I hate to tell you this, but I spent the better part of the dark, stormy night chasing that dog around the house. I couldn't leave that outfit on her for fear she might get caught in it, thus the running after her. It got to be a game, I'd be waiting for her in one room and she'd go shooting through to another. Finally, I sat in me desk chair in me loft in exhaustion trying not to fall asleep, the one thing I wanted most.

I'd catch meself because every time me eyes would start to close around the corner came THIS:

Batdog on the prowl

By the time Tonya arrived, I needed me a holiday. So I went to Ireland to get me old Mam to come back with me and I will say THAT turned out to be no holiday at all.

Gabe
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1 comment:

Fionnula said...

finally! where have you been? worth the wait, I can relate. lol