Lion and Magic Boy

Invariably, whenever I run a chat at night of channeling, something I do once a month, it affects Eric’s sleep. Eric typically sleeps pretty well, except when he does this. But my urgency at needing him to be asleep and me as a result free to be downstairs and working by 9 pm on a Sunday must be discernible.

Palpable.

Wakehimupable.

I could swear he was alseep when I left him.

(I have created a monster. Should have Ferberized him years ago.)

9:10 pm: Eric slides downstairs and arrives in the computer room. I tell him to go back upstairs and get in bed. He smiles at me. I take him upstairs, put him in bed, tell him to stay there.

9:14 pm: He’s back. We go upstairs again. I tell him what a big boy he is, how big boys stay in their beds. I can tell he’s not buying it.

9:17 pm: Again. By this time, my chat has begun. I’m speaking into a headset.

From time to time, I turn to Eric and tell him to go upstairs to bed. He smiles at me and gets something to play with. He lays on a big pillow thing we got for free because I wrote a review on it. I would never have bought one of these (pink? with polka dots?) but Eric likes it. He rolls around on it, pretty quietly, for the next hour.

11:07 pm: I excuse myself and take Eric upstairs. He must be exhausted by now. Surely he will go right to sleep! I am regretting that late afternoon nap now.

11:09 pm: Why hello, Eric!

I give up.

11:48 pm: I am finished working but my patience is exhausted. I put Eric in his bed again and go downstairs.

11:49 pm: I have just got my laptop out and I hear him close the bedroom door upstairs, which he does upon leaving the room to come downstairs.

11:50 pm: He’s back in bed. STAY THERE! I tell him I am angry with him.  He’s almost four years old.  He should be able to do this.

11:51 pm: I touch the laptop, hear the door close again.

11:52 pm: Back. In. Bed. I close the door. I have just remembered that he can’t open it from the inside.

11:53 pm: I hear crying from upstairs. He is sitting next to the door, unable to open it.

11:54 pm: I put him on his bed one more time. I cover him tenderly with a blanket. I tell him what a Big Boy he is. I use all the tricks. I close the door.

11:55 pm: No crying. I spend the next 30 minutes trying to play a downloaded TV show on my Mac. I am eventually successful after installing three fixes. The third one works. (NOTE TO MAC USERS: Avi files do not play in QuickTime. In case I am not the last person to find this out)

12:53 am: I go upstairs. Why is my light on? It wasn’t on before.

Eric is under the covers in my bed on the side I sleep in. I can see his sleeping face in the glow of the lamp he has turned on. In the light, he is beautiful, trusting, comforted.