Blue

I have contracted a small cold, the kind that stuffs up your nose and makes your throat scratchy and causes you to feel completely exhausted even though you can’t sleep.  By supper time we had already dealt with the moldy banana muffin from two weeks ago that The Banana had stuffed in the coat closet, next to a large container of rancid vanilla “kid” yogurt (the coveted kind with lots of sugar, rather than the ordinary plain yogurt).  We had already dealt with the discovery of Mr. Sneaky Pants’ unopened lunch box from the last day of school which had been forgotten inside his school backpack hanging in the hot and stuffy garage for, hmmm . . . SEVEN weeks now.  (He had to open the containers and clean them himself . . . consequence enough, I’d say).

I was lying on the couch waiting for the hard boiled eggs to start boiling, and it was momentarily a bit quiet.  I considered dozing off with my head cold.  Then Mr. Trouble on Feet zipped in.  I opened my eyes and noticed immediately that his legs were a new artistic shade of blue.  Ugg.  Someone had located a blue marker.  I really wish those big kids would just put things back where they belong!

Me:  Honey, did you find a marker?

Mr. TOF:  Yeah!

Me:  OK, we don’t use markers to draw on legs.  Markers are for paper.  Markers on legs are not good.  This blue is bad on your legs!  Only use markers on PAPER.

Mr. TOF looks down at his legs.  He looks back up at my tired face.  He grins as big as he can and then he excitedly signs, “Cookie Monster!”

I nearly choked on my own saliva.

The kid might not talk, but he already has IDEAS.  Big ideas.

Here he is, happily signing the “monster” part of “Cookie monster” with his little blue legs.