excerpt from a continuing conversation involving two 3" plastic stretchy-men with hard plastic torsos, who sometimes die off and morph into other objects, (or are occasionally recycled by the imaginary wives of these men) only to be resurrected when the story hits a dead-end...
ar: "well, i was so distinct that she made ME into a zipline!"
wt: "ooooooo! does that mean you STINKED?" (sneaky laugh here)
ar: "NO!! i was DIS-tinct! -doesn't that mean dead, momma?"
db: "no...that's EX-tinct, like dinosaurs."
ar: "well, anyway, i was so stretchy when i died that she made me into a zipline and stretched me all the way across the yard, and it was the biggest yard in the county! (thoughtful pause) when someone dies, they can still be really useful (nod to thomas and the island of sodor here), right momma? 'cause you turn back to ashes and dirt, which is what God made us out of, so you can use 'em up as compost. yep, just put 'em out there on the compost heap, that's it!"
SILENCE
wt: "andrew, i really dont want to talk about this anymore."
*****
"i'm having lots of faith these days, mommy!" - wt to me at bedtime. i had a headache that night. splitting, seeing stars, nauseous. i was laying on my side in bed with him, humming him to sleep, when he crawled up on top of me, laid his cheek to mine, patted my head and laid there silently for a good 20 minutes. then he rolled off, looked at me with smile and whispered to me in sleepy-voice:
wt - "mommy, is your headache going away now?
db - "yes, it is."
wt: "i knew it would because i've been praying and i have FAITH! i've been having lots of faith these days."
db: "makes your heart feel good, doesn't it...cool how having a little faith in Jesus always makes things seem a little better."
wt: "not a LITTLE better, mommy, a LOT better!!"
*****
fatigue. saran wrap holds back niagara.
tanks never full.
legos. paintbrushes forever stuck in plasticized dried paint. dog hair. argument over imaginary men, imaginary rocket ships. argument over... cant remember. chaos. disobedience. anger. tears.
hugs. prayers. forgiveness. offerings. self-less giving of service.
worthless becomes precious.
