Brain Eating Zombies

Meredith and I were playing tug of war tonight with her blanket (her "kibby" - long story about the origins of that one. Just take it at face value.). She is so animated and creative, she just cracks me up.

Anyway, we're playing tug of war, saying, "My kibby." "No, MY kibby." "No, MY kibby!!" Finally, I took the kibby away from her and laid down on the couch, throwing it over my body and pretending to snore, which then started the I'll-pretend-to-sleep-with-the-kibby-while-you-try-to-steal-it game. On about round 6 of that game, I'm pretending to be asleep and Meredith takes the kibby, wraps it around her shoulders, puts both of her hands up in a claw-like formation, bulges out her eyes, and says, "Brains!! Brains!! Brains!!" I don't know whether to play along with a little scream or laugh, so I do both. I put my hands up over my face and she says, "Oh no! The sun is out! Now I'm melting into a pile of green goo!" Then she proceeds to do this whole melting sequence, reminescent of The Wizard of Oz. Very convincing. She does this for a few rounds, then decides to play "mommy" to my "daughter" and says, "Honey, the reason why the monster keeps coming back is because you're not sweeping up the goo. I'll get the broom." She then proceeds to sweep it all up, put the kibby over my shoulders, pat me on the back and tell me everything is going to be okay.

And sometimes at the end of the day, that's what we're all looking for. When the monsters attack us, the brain eating creditors, the hair raising demands of work, school, and family, the scream-inducing terror of feeling like a captain whose ship is lost at sea, whose crew is looking to you for guidance, every so often we need that reassurance that only a warm blanket and a kind hand can give us, a gentle kiss from small lips telling you that it will be alright. For some that reassurance comes from God, for others it's friends or family. We all need it. Our little acts of kindness for family, friends, and strangers may provide them the reassurance they need. So - bring on those brain eating green gooey zombie monsters - my kibby and my daughters will protect me!!