But more importantly...
Bless the parent of the strong willed child…for he shall
have no peace.
Double that to 2 toddlers barely a year apart and he shall
also get no rest.
Pray not for patience…for in doing so one receives challenge
to build that patience.
Ask the universe instead for mental quickness to outwit the little
beggars…
…and 4 hours of uninterrupted sleep.
The rowdy, rambunctious tag team of Thing 1 and Thing 2,
currently in residence at now quite aptly named Casa de Chaos, spend the
abundance of their day in one state of agitation or another; singly and in
tandem. (They even wake up agitated) Beleaguered
dad struggles to maintain composure and not give in to the urge to grab the
duct tape, box them up and ship them COD to Abu Dabi. (He is a good young man
who stepped up and in to accept the responsibility and consequences of, as he
puts it, “being young and stooopid.”)
Much of the drama is the simple, normal, undaunted, lazer
bean focus toddler quest for freedom.
Add the chaotic and, until now, unstable prior living arrangements and
you have the recipe for atomic level explosion. (Duck and cover.) One hopes the new living arrangement
enables all to come to feel a sense of
haven here…a sense of…home.
During the rare and all too fleeting moments of abundant joy
in life a toddler has, it is a pleasure to see the world through their eager, inexperienced
eyes. There is nothing in the world like a child’s unvarnished curiosity about
EVERYTHING. That is until the reality of life smacks them like a brick bursting
the bubble and respite is sought in the small corner of peace in our bedroom
cum sitting room…though the door to said room must now be locked due to a lack
of understanding boundaries on the part of 2 year old Thing 1. (He’ll learn.)
Having taken them in rather than see them parceled out and
singly passed around from one reluctant relative or another, we volunteered for
this gig. And, while I am not sorry we have done so…I do find my tired self questioning
my sanity in thinking that us old farts have the stamina to go the distance.
This was not part of the original design in the 2 year plan
toward giving up the stay-put life in favor of that of the gypsy. It is,
howsumever, that which we have voluntarily immersed ourselves during the
transition between working and not.
Still….there is that moment when one opens the front door after
a long day at the office and those wee
wicked monsters, with joy radiating from their grubby little faces, squeal in unabashed
delight….”Nanaaaaaaaa!!!” Wrapped in
their small, but dirty, embrace it is all somehow worth the chaos that reigns within
these four walls.
Their zest for life is boundless.
But…one is still grateful for a locked door.
And, 4 hours of uninterrupted sleep.
In the meantime....Eva Cassidy sings "God Bless the Child"
