Heaven Help Us

The sky fell in today. No really, it did. Did you miss it? Take a close look at the ground, I'm sure you'll find a shard or two of transparent sky matter. Nothing? Hm. Well, you'll just have to take my word for it then because nothing else explains the perfect storm that was my afternoon and evening. It has been building for awhile and I should have seen the signs, but somehow I brushed them off. I should have paid special heed to my son's sudden clinginess. I have often felt like I was wearing a twenty pound ankle bracelet the past few days. I should have taken a moment to assess the sudden departure of his afternoon naps. Add to that his cold and then Emily's subsequent cold and I should have seen it coming a mile away. But I didn't. Oh how foolish I have been! It all came to a head this afternoon about five o'clock. I put Aidan down for a late nap at four. I didn't think he'd need one today because he slept in until almost nine this morning. Silly me, I forgot that he has a cold and therefore would need his nap regardless of what time he got up this morning. So around four o'clock my generally sweet boy was behaving in ways I had only witnessed on a few occasions. So off to bed. He slept for an hour and woke up screaming. I was feeding the baby so my husband got him up. He didn't want Daddy he wanted Mommy and even when he got Mommy the screaming continued for at least twenty minutes. Curious George was the ticket to calming him down, that and the assurance that Emily would not be occupying the same immediate space as himself and his Mommy. That's right, everyone, Aidan has figured out that Emily is not going away, she's sticking around for the long haul and he's not too happy about that. Eventually I had to again pick Emily up and Aidan tried his best to pry her from my arms. Oh the poor dear. My heart breaks for him. He's resilient though. Grandma came home and together we were able to get him calmed down and back to his normal self. But it doesn't end there. Oh no. My sweet Emily began crying. All out wailing, actually. And would Grandma suffice? (Daddy was at school.) Oh no. Had to be Mommy. So for the past, oh, four hours she has been intermittently sleeping and crying. She doesn't want a bottle. She doesn't want to be put down. She didn't even want her bath, which she usually loves. Right now Daddy is doing his best to keep her calm. I better go see if I can help. It's going to be a long night.