Bedtime at our house is a zoo. I’m sure this is true of your home too, if you have children anywhere from birth until whatever age it is they begin to disappear into their caves unaided.
Since I work full-time, bedtime is my big chance to speak into the lives of our young son and daughter. Last night’s circus kicked off with my little one, who produces and directs her own shows, starring herself and whatever family member she can con into playing the other part.
“Mama, you be Goliath and I’ll be David.” So I act gruff and growl “Who will fight me?” Little David squeaks bold defiance, and I continue, “Am I a dog?” Soon I am thumping my way down to ceremonious defeat. Then it’s her turn. She screws her sweet elfin face into the crustiest curmudgeon she can manage and deepens her tiny voice into a snarl as she throws down the gauntlet. I accept the challenge, and she accosts me with “Are you a cat?”
At this point “David” breaks character and laughs. My little comedienne, ever ready to milk a receptive audience, presses in, “Are you a frog?”
Act II: We go through our nightly cribside liturgy: “Mama, what are we going to do tomorrow?” “Well, you and Daddy will stay home and play, Big Brother will go to school, and Mama will go to work.” Only this time I added, “ . . . at the ALLIANCE.”
“Mama, are there LIONS at your work?”
Act III: This is where the “bears” come in, that is, tough and colorful questions from #1 Son:
“Mom, what’s booze?” and then “hootch” and then “butts in an ashtray”? From the quizzical and slightly shocked look on his face he was picturing a most disgraceful display (he’s visual just like me!). And all this in one paragraph . . . Even my laidback husband raised his eyebrows – what is he reading? “Left Behind: the teen series” – the book was describing an irresponsible alcoholic relative in a most unappetizing light, and the message my son, along with the boy in the book, got was “This is NOT cool, this is NOT what you want to grow up to be like.” That was the “colorful” part – now the "tough" questions – several dozen times this week “When will the rapture happen?” “Will it be in my lifetime?” and “When will the AntiChrist come?” Never mind that I’ve told him a hundred times I have no idea . . . he needs to hear a great message I heard on “living with ambiguity.”
And don’t we all? Life is a circus and we don’t know what’s going on in the next ring, much less the next act! Blogging is good, it helps us connect the dots, connect those rings as we catch a glimpse of who’s walking what tightropes and who’s facing down tigers while we peddle popcorn . . .
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