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Almost
And when the wombat comes, he will find me gone...
6-22
- Early this morning the kid woke up crying.
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- He does that sometimes - when he's hungry or wet, or if he's had a bad dream.
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- The fact that five days a week he's up and out the door before 7 am and then on Saturday the alarm doesn't go off at all probably doesn't help matters much either.
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- I crawled out of bed, picked him up, and did my best to calm him.
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- Fresh Diaper, a tickle behind the ear.
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- I tried to get him back into his bed to see if he would fall back asleep, but all it did was make him cry more... so I went to plan B. I grabbed a few pillows, and an extra comforter, and carried him into the living room. He fidgeted around a little more when we got there, but after a moment's coaxing he curled up on the couch and drifted back off, clutching the blanket tightly in his fingers.
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- Don't know why, but sometimes all it takes is a change of scenery...
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- I spent a moment or two watching him to make sure he was ok - but before I knew it I was stretched out on the floor next to him, back on the canyon beaches of the dream I was having before he woke up the first time.
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- About an hour later my internal clock brought me to consciousness.
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I almost moved him back to his bed, but he seemed so peaceful there…
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- Doing my best to be quiet I filled the coffeepot with water, filter, and grounds. A flick of the switch starts the brew.
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A stretch of the back, a scratch here and there.
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- It rained all last night... steady, loud. Gray skies still hung over the house. Absently I opened the fridge, not really looking for anything particular. Not much in there. Need to go grocery shopping soon.
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I almost missed the stuffed animal sitting on the bottom shelf.
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- Curren likes to open and close the refrigerator door when he's in the kitchen. Sometimes when he's thirsty, he'll open the door, grab the first jug of something that looks like a drink, and drag it to wherever I am at the moment. I guess sometimes he also takes the liberty of putting things there as well.
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- I fixed myself a cup of Joe and headed back into the living room. Curren was still asleep, but it probably wouldn't be for much longer. I took at seat on the floor near him, sipped at my coffee and cracked the cover on the copy of American Gods that Andrew bought for me.
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- 30 pages in, I noticed that he's awake. How long he'd been sitting there quietly behind me, I couldn't really tell you.
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- He's reached a talkative age. He doesn't have all the words yet, but you only need so many when you're hungry.
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- I make him a bowl of cereal.
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- I almost added raisins to the bowl, but then I remembered that he doesn't like them.
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- While he worked on the cereal, I found his sip cup and took it into the kitchen. I washed it out a bit and then I almost filled it up with coffee.
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- Do you ever have one of those weird moments where you suddenly catch yourself putting the carton of orange juice into the cabinet with the dishes, or your car keys in the freezer? It's like your brain is distracted for a moment, and your body continues on - like a riding lawnmower over a garden hose or a loose-capped salt shaker.
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- Then when your mind realizes that there's no one at the wheel it slams on the brakes, slaps you in the forehead. Suddenly I'm standing there, a flaming hot coffee carafe perched above a plastic Winnie the Pooh cup, wondering what the hell I am doing.
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- Once I get my head on straight I fill his cup with juice and hand it over to him. He's already burned through the cereal and asking for seconds… all the while repeating with glee the single word that indicates what he wants to watch on TV.
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- Reluctantly I push play on the VCR, and the opening theme to Toy Story starts. I hand him his favorite Buzz Lightyear doll while I head to the kitchen to get him some more Buzz Blast cereal. As the dialog starts up, Curren points at the screen and calls out the names of the characters he knows.
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It's cute as hell, but I've watched this movie so many times with him in the last month that I almost know every line by heart.
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- I take a moment while he eats to check on the wife.
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- Still sleeping, curled up on the far side of the bed, the blanket clutched tightly in her fingers.
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- I close the door, pushing the doorjamb down a bit to keep it from creaking.
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- The boy went to bed early last night, and we stayed up watching TV together. A Dateline special about serial killers in Washington, a Law and Order episode about a brutal crime of passion. Not exactly romantic stuff, but at least we were together. Thankfully a particularly good Sanford and Son came along to brighten the mood, but by the time it was over it was closing in on Midnight.
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- Kim headed to bed, telling me not to stay up too late.
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- I was almost pretty sure that there was a certain vibe to the way she said it.
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- I went into the bedroom a few moments later with every intention to make a pass at my wife.
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But when I got there she was snoring so hard that I almost woke her up with my laughter.
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