A surprise nap for Audrey, and Calvin spent the day trying to self-destruct

Today included the unexpected sweetness of sharing a nap on the couch with Audrey. She hasn't napped in almost two years but this afternoon, when Calvin was finally down for his nap, I felt a wave of fatigue hit me and I told Audrey I simply had to lie down on the couch for a few minutes and "rest my eyes." After trying to peel my eyelids back for a minute she asked if she could cuddle with me and-- surprise of all surprises!!-- promptly fell asleep. After a short snooze, nose to nose with Audrey, I was able to extricate myself and worked for about an hour while BOTH of my children slept. What peace! It'll never happen again!

And Calvin. He has no fear of falling, no respect for gravity, his actions are not informed by a sense of caution at all. I don't even know how to communicate with such a being-- my whole life is about managing anxiety. Today he fell on his face or the top of his head no fewer than four times, and attempted a jump from the top of a playground structure that prompted me to stuff him under my arm and say, "That's it! We're leaving! Everybody back to the stroller. I'm done."

Picture me at the top of the slide, smiling and cooing, waiting to assist Calvin on a safe trip down. He runs up the stairs. He runs toward the top of the slide. He runs-- still standing!! not slowing down at all!!-- down the twisty slide. His neck is not broken but if you think this is helping me put it all in perspective than you must not have met me. I'm not sure we're ever going to the playground again. I've cast myself forward to Calvin's first driving lesson and our explanation-- as no sense of self-preservation will lead him to this conclusion automatically-- that it is customary to slow down when taking a corner.

In the bathtub tonight I was still washing out bits of mulch that got pushed up into his nostrils when he ran out the backdoor, straight off the end of the porch and into the flower beds. Then a few seconds later smacked his face on the flagstone patio. This was after jumping off the couch and landing on the crown of his head while I tried to talk an RCN technician (the combination of screaming on my end and heavily-accented English on his made the conversation tense for everyone).

But we're doing all right. Bookending all these kamakaze maneuvers, the first thing Calvin did upon waking and the last thing he did before bed was to give Audrey a kiss.