Get Rid of the Kitchen to get More Sleep

It was the wee hours of the morning, the sun was just coming up. When I was pounced upon, no not by my husband (he knows better), but by a smallish child.

"Hi Momma. Hi Momma" was the joyous greeting I got after the pouncing.

I opened my eyes to get a up close look at Jake, smiling at me through his pacifier.

"Oh Jake," I said sleepily, "it is too early to get up. Can't you just go back upstairs?"

I really didn't expect that would work but I said it anyway. But much to my surprise, he began to slide down the end of the bed and scamper away. I smiled to myself, turned over and willed myself to fall back to sleep.

While I laid there in my half asleep, half awake state, my mind very slowly replayed the events that just occurred.

"What a good boy to listen and go back to bed."

"I love sleep. Yeah more for me."

"Now what boy was that that came in here?"

"I need to remember to tell him what a good boy he was for letting his mommy sleep some more."

"I think it was Jake. Yeah, Jake wakes up first."

"What a good....."

"Wait!?" By now I was trying to make my mind work faster. I was trying to shake off my sleepiness and focus on what was going on.

"Jake is awake and up all by himself in the house!?"

"Jake the biggest mischief maker of the family. The child that will climb on anything. The child that figured out to open anything. This child is awake and running around unsupervised in the house!?!"

Now I was fully wake. My mind was racing as to what he was up to.

And then I heard it.

Soft mumbling and clinking coming from the kitchen.

I sat straight up in bed, threw back the covers and proceeded to run into the kitchen.

And there was Jake. I expected to see that he had pulled up a chair to the counter so that he could climb up and sit there. So that was no surprise.

But what I didn't not expect was for him to be sitting where he was and to be playing with what he was.

For you see, when I ran into the kitchen, I stopped just short of where Jake was partly because I was in shock and partly because of what was thrown at me.

I found my two year old child sitting on the stove top playing with a lap full of knives, waving and swinging them in the air.

And when I ran into the kitchen and said his name, I startled him causing him to drop/throw one almost stabbing me in the foot.

Lesson learned. I either need to get rid of the kitchen all together or put a lock on his bedroom door. Then and only then, will I be able to sneak a few extra minutes of sleep.

This post was inspired by the prompts for Writer's Workshop

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