Heaven and Hell

Last night, I told my man that I was leaving for a while. I didn't know where I was going or when I would have the guts to return. The punk had driven his poor mama to a dark place. I cried down the freeway, absentmindedly wondering if anyone noticed the crazy, sad lady in the car with the Ragnar sticker.

After grabbing a Starbucks hot chocolate (my go-to medicine) and wandering through Urban Outfitters and Anthropologie, I felt human again. I even returned home sooner than I had planned, in time to help with the punk's bath and bedtime routine. Then I cried again.

It's indecent how much one little toddler with a baaaaad attitude can screw with the person who gave him life. Yeah, that's right punk! You owe me everything, and in return, I get your very first nerve-twisting, day-long tantrum? No deal!

So I watched The Princess Bride and went to bed early.

This morning, the punk gave me the greatest gift of all: he slept in! Yesterday he was up at 6:30. Today: 8:00! That's right. The sun was up before he was! I knew the universe was paying me back for not escaping to Las Vegas yesterday like I had considered. That blessed hour and a half seemed to adjust the attitudes of us both.

The punk and I played on my bed, using his small blanket as a "tent." I threw it over our heads, and he'd smile and say, "Mama, tent!" Then, "Hug!" And he would lie on top of me, squishing his bulbous cheek into mine, and then give me a kiss.

All through our morning together, he played nice, and in return, I didn't lose my marbles. In fact, all of my marbles are safely stowed with no threat of escape. Want to borrow some?

We went to the park before his nap, where he shared the playground with a group of about 8 kindergarteners on a play date. They all had little Halloween buckets, and were running around, singing, "Trick or treat!" He soon learned the phrase and joined in the fun. I found him under the jungle gym with all of them. They would hold out their buckets to him and say, "Trick or treat!" And he would then give them "candy" (handfuls of wood chips). He was in heaven. I overheard a couple of them say, "That baby is so nice!"

Thanks kids! You just guaranteed the expulsion of Cruella De Vil from my stack of multiple personalities! (...at least for the rest of the day.)