Two nights ago a little boy came into our bedroom around 3 am and told me he needed to cuddle with me "right now". I was too tired to object so he slept in our bed the rest of the night.
Around 3 am (3:06 to be exact) this morning the same little boy came scurrying into my room, this time shrieking. He started to find a spot to sleep in my bed but I was just tired enough from not sleeping well the night before that I did object. So we went back to his room.
"I can't sleep in my bed," said the little boy.
"Why not?"
"The butterfly is gonna get me - on my head."
"I don't see any butterflies."
"No - the pink one. It's getting me on my head."
"Oh. Well, do you think you could ask it to please get off? Just say, Please get off, Butterfly."
[The little boy was not convinced and refuses to lie down. Enter Husband.]
"Braden, what's scaring you?"
"The butterfly is getting my head - the pink one."
[Husband is mildly amused, surprising for this hour.]
"It's hurting you?"
"Yeah!"
"Tell me about it."
[Little boy recounts the whole attack while Husband and Wife stifle laughter.]
"Was the butterfly by this book under your pillow? Do you think you maybe thought it was a butterfly but it was really a book hitting your head?" [Wife wonders why she didn't think of this.]
"Oh, yeah."
"Well, let's move this book and then the butterflies will stop."
[The little boy happily climbs into bed and lays down. Husband returns to bed while Wife rocks the now-awake Little Girl back to sleep. Then Wife returns to bed.]
[More shrieking, this time it sounds like human flesh being attacked by killer butterflies.]
"MOMMY! DADDY!"
[Wife goes in and turns hall light on and performs routine visual butterfly scan. No flying insects visualized. Little boy instructed to pray for help if butterflies attack again - the pink ones. Wife then rocks the now-awake-again Little Girl back to sleep. Then Wife returns to bed.]
Wife is laying there, contemplating a world where one's nightmares involve pink butterflies. Suddenly, she feels a hand fluttering by her face and it hits her on the head!
[Husband and Wife erupt into whispered laughter.]
"Butterflies? Couldn't they at least have been brown?" says Husband.
And then everyone fell back asleep.
7 comments:
HAHAHA!!! LOVE IT! I especially love that you two manage to have a sense of humor and laugh together at 3 am!
This is so funny! Burgess had the same nightmare in his childhood and everyone makes fun of him for it. It was when he lived in Korea and there were HUGE moths and would fly all around. I guess one landed on his back and it was so huge it covered his whole backside. He had nightmares from that day on and he would wake up saying, "Mommy! The BUTTERFLIES ARE GETTING ME!!!!"
I'm still laughing! Oh I love you and your butterfly fearing child!
Oh that is so funny! What a funny boy that Braden is. I think he and Brody would be great friends.
Thanks for the good laugh...you and Tom are definitely a perfect couple...LOVE the story!
We are going to have nightmares of PINK butterflies tonight. Wait the real nightmare is having kids up at 3am.
I'm impressed that you guys were so patient AND CREATIVE at that time in the morning. The story definitely cracked me up. I love the pictures of Keri's birthday. She really does seem so big.
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