Monday, June 18, 2007

Be careful...she'll turn on ya.

I was all set. I was all set to spew out a kleenex-grabbing story about this:

The rocker belonged to Husband's grandmother and he'd gotten it before we were married. When we were setting up Son 1's room before he was born, we decided to have it refinished to what you see now, since it was in really poor condition. This was a tough decision, mind you, since the rocker I really wanted for Baby's Room was a plush $300 rocker from Babies R Us that glided you and your cherub to sleep on a giant cloud. But the sentimental value of Grandma's rocker was high and we wanted it to look nice so we had it refinished and dutifully placed it in the corner, inevitibly for decoration.

But to my pleasant surprise, this hard-surfaced rocker has become a wonderful addition to Son 1's bedroom and a regular stop for Son 2 and I on our way downstairs after naptime. I spend about ten minutes in it every afternoon with him snuggling with his blanket and me hoping the creaking of it wakes up Son 1 from his nap so everyone remains on the same sleep schedule (don't laugh, sleep schedules for these boys are penned on scrolled parchment and signed by Presidents). So anyway, I was all set in my little writer mind to illustrate these scenarios with enough flowery prose to have you reaching for each other for a group hug.

That is, until today.

It was post-nap for Son 2 and I settled into the chair for our daily snuggle, when Son 1 awakens in his sweet angel way (today, by asking me if he could pleeease now open his Happy Meal toy). Creak, creak, "yes, honey, in a minute..." Creak, creak, "I'm rocking your brother..." Creak, creak, "Come over here and give me a hug..." Creak, creak, "Okay, Mamma..."


So he comes over and stands next to me in Great Grandma's nearly-antique chair. Except he stood a little too close to me, and the very sturdy feet of the rocker rocked right over his toes.


Let's just say the creaking of the rocker and the angels playing violins were drowned out by Son 1's screaming.


(Sigh) It's all OK, though, I managed to calm him and his toes survived unscathed. And Great Grandma's rocker passed the test of rocking two boys at the same time.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Nice story! Do today's rockers come with warning labels, I wonder? "If chair is dropped, discontinue use and take to an authorized repair shop. Do not operate chair within 12 inches of feet ... "

BV

Anonymous said...

Well, that story had it all: sweet sentimentality, a nod to the past, anticipation, drama, violence and a happy ending. I must say it did make me cringe more than the snake picture and that's saying a lot.

If it makes you feel any better, son #2 has had his fingers slammed in the car door not once, but twice. Once by me. It still gives me the shudders.

MLS (and I'll bet they do put warnings on rockers...)