Tuesday, January 19, 2010

The Tiniest Poltergeist?

I've made it to 33 weeks, and I'm in the home stretch. Emphasis on stre-e-e-e-e-tch. My shirts are stretched out, my patience is stretched thin, and my tummy is stretched so tight that every time I sneeze, cough, or laugh, I feel as though my baby will come flying out of my belly button. Did I mention that our home is being stretched, too? Yup, the storage capacity of our home is being stretched to its limits with new baby crap. Even though we still have tons of gear left over from when Benjamin was a wee infant, we've acquired more stuff for Baby #2 - more cloth diapers, a double stroller, and baby girl clothes. Thank goodness my nesting instinct has kicked in, or else our place would be a total disaster. It's like I'm having a flashback to this time two years ago when I was in the throes of feathering my nest in anticipation of Benjamin's arrival. But this time, the joy of nest-feathering is tempered with the dread of knowing sleepless nights are just a month away. Yes, ignorance was bliss!
.
Benjamin has been nesting, too. Sort of. He recently developed this strange habit of lining things up - his toy cars, his books, and - most strangely - his playroom furniture. I've gone into the kitchen, only to be barricaded in by a neat row of chairs. Or, I'll get up to answer the call of nature only to find that the hallway leading to the bathroom door has been blocked by the chairs.
.
Benjamin's new obsession reared its head at our friend George's birthday party a few weeks ago. As soon as we got there, Benjamin got busy rearranging the metal chairs on the patio. Ten minutes after our arrival, he'd pulled them away from the table and lined them up in a neat row. Considering that each chair was twice his size, this was no small feat! The other partygoers - as well as Vince and I - looked on in amusement and a little puzzlement. Was this "normal" behavior? Sure it was cute, but the single-mindedness with which he rearranged those chairs was also a little odd. It was like he was a Boo possessed. It was strange, maybe even a bit creepy.
.
If the incident with the patio chairs wasn't enough to creep me out, this was:
.
It was the weekend, and I'd left Vince at home with Benjamin while I ran errands. When I returned, Benjamin was napping, and these chairs were on the table. I asked Vince if he was the one who did it, and he said, "No, that was the Boo. He's nuts." Maybe I wouldn't have found this creepy at all if it weren't for the fact that it reminded me of a certain scene from Poltergeist.
.
Creepiness notwithstanding, I'm hoping that Benjamin's obsession with order will spread to other areas, too!

No comments: