"WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT?" His roar is rich and deep and heavy with a rage that 12 years shouldn't know. "AAAAOOOOOWWWWW! NOA, WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT?"
I can hear her whimper through the porch door. "I don't know."
They're getting their coats on to go to church for the mid-week program.
"NOA!"
"Sorry, Zander." Barely a whisper.
"NO YOU'RE NOT!" And he sounds like murder.
I open the door. Zander's clutching his side and breathing through his mouth in the long draws we've taught him to use when he needs to calm down. Noa is staring at the floor and there's terror in the shiver of her shoulders.
"What happened?" I ask.
"NOA BIT ME!" He lifts his shirt and shows me the wound.
"Noa, did you bite him?" I ask.
"Yes."
"Why?"
"I don't know."
"Zander, what happened?"
Liam pipes up, "He called her a zombie."
I want to laugh because common sense would say, you call a kid zombie - that kid is going to bite you!
Poor Zombie Noa. A great tear slips down her cheek while she contemplates the consequence of her action, looking to a brother who is red-faced and shaking his head against his own pain tears.
I can't laugh, of course. Noa is disciplined with lost privileges and I put them through the actions of apology and acceptance.
"You realize what your shirt says, Zander?" I ask him.
He looks down and a little grin splits through the gloom.
I'll have to keep my eye on him. All it takes is a bite to be turned.
[NaBloPoMo Day 28]
And now, a behind the scenes look at the thrilling making of this post...
We've finished dinner and I say to Zander, "Would you go put on the zombie shirt you were wearing yesterday so I can take a picture of it?"
"What? Why? Did you blog about the bite?"
"Yup."
"I don't want to." (Mom, you're so lame!) "I'm still hungry. Can I have a muffin?"
"Go put on that shirt and you can have a muffin."
Again, a thoroughly delightful and insightful post. I love it! The picture and post script are worth - well - more than a thousand words....
ReplyDeleteKids certainly keep my days interesting!
DeleteI love your weird children!
ReplyDeleteThat's hilarious
ReplyDeletePoor Noa .... Big brothers are a bother.
ReplyDeleteShe's not totally innocent in all this, you know! But you're right - I think those boys bring out her inner monster ;)
DeleteI have tears rolling down my cheeks, with laughter. I don't know how you didn't laugh.
ReplyDeleteSometimes you have to save the laughing for later ;) His anger kind of superseded any chance I had to laugh - first step: calm down the mad one!
DeleteHahahahaha this is hilarious! Zander earned it. I applaud you for keeping in your laughter!
ReplyDelete