Circus Circus part 7: THE TRADE

I'm going to try to finish this up today because I need to be finished telling this story. So here goes.

The first night without a pi goes better than I ever expected. He didn't ask for it at all and was happy to just have his milk "just the way he likes it." He woke up in the middle of the night asking if I would hold him. Remembering my commitment to replace his Pi with comfort from Mommy I agreed. Colin NEVER sleeps with me so this was a treat for him all by itself. I think God planned it to be honest. If we had taken pi away any other way, he would've slept alone or JD would've slept with him. Anyway, we woke up happy, rested, and began acting like the old Colin I know and love and by the way, I acted better too. It's amazing what a little sleep will do for a person.

The next day we decided it would be fun to take the kids to Circus Circus. I've never been. Lived in Las Vegas for four years and never went. So it was unknown territory for us all. But before I get to that, let me tell you what happened to poor Teddy. Teddy is a vintage Winnie-the-Pooh bear. He's been Colin's companion for awhile now. He used to have a puppy that he abandoned and I figured he didn't really care about stuffed animals and all he ever needed was his pi and blanket. But one day while in Target he sees this Pooh bear. It came with a newborn blanket and was packaged to be a gift to a newborn I guess. Anyway, as soon as we paid for it he undid the ribbon, handed me the blanket and asked me to pull the tags off Pooh and that was that. They were buddies from there. Gotta love a kid who finds his own "lovey" in a Target store. Well, I guess someone or something had to be the brunt of Colin's distress and trauma. So Teddy was turned into a soccer ball in the courtyard. Colin kicked Pooh (Teddy) for two hours straight. I didn't tell him to stop. I just figured Teddy was his best friend and like any best friend he would take any abuse for a short time out of compassion and understanding of what his friend must be suffering. I saw Toy Story. I know the toys are aware of our lives. At that moment my heart went out to Teddy and I was grateful he was paying the price instead of me. (Little theology lesson there). Before we left for Circus Circus, Teddy was no longer a nice little golden color but a dull dark grey. Sad. Truly, just sad.

Circus Circus was just that - a Circus Vegas style. We're not talking Cirque Du Soleil. No, this is one of the dingy, dark, not so happenin' places that you quickly get lost in. It's like a huge in-door carnival midway with every game you can imagine that will lure you to play, promise you to win, even get a successful display by the host, and you will lose and the host will smile as he or she slides your dollars into their pocket. We watched a couple of small shows. But mostly Colin just wanted to play games. After we had won three prizes for each kid we decided it was time to eat. Conveniently, McDs was in the place and we made our way there. By this time, my son was hungry enough to eat everything in front of him. When we got back, the new stuffed animals took over the soccer ball position and toss-the-bear game and I rescued Teddy and put him away somewhere safe until he could get a bath.

The second night without a pi went okay but not as well as the first. We had an hour in the middle of the night where he cried and wanted to go home. I told him we were going home tomorrow. He wanted to leave right then. It was then it dawned on me that my child had already calculated how many pis were at home. He was without one here but so what? You can do anything for a day or two. You could stand on your head for a day or two. If he could just make it home, this nightmare would be over, he would have his pi and all would be normal and well again. My mind began to work. I wasn't sure what to do. I do not have a stupid kid. He's smart. He's really smart. He KNOWS that this isn't over. He KNOWS there is more than one pi in all the world. He's seen me buy them at the store. He's seen the stash in the house. He knows there's at least one more at home and he's already planning to HAVE it.

So I bring this up to JD then next time I talk to him. Remember, JD is the compassionate one in the family. He's the feeler. He's the one with the gift of mercy in great quantities. God gave me zero. I know JD's already figuring out how to give back the pi. Creatively mind you, but give it back. Reason is because he thinks that Colin should decide on his own to give up his pi and in return he gets a reward. I'm down with that but starting over is not my idea of a good time. PLUS, hey, I've been suffering too here. I don't want to suffer the past three days all over again. Come on! Give me a little credit. So we talk about the possibility of maybe a new bicycle as the reward. This is not the first time we've discussed it. But it is the first time it matters. I suggest that maybe the trash-man bring Colin a note that says if he can make it without his pi a little longer then the trash-man will bring a bike. JD doesn't like this idea. He shouldn't, it's stupid. Brainstorming continues. I tell JD, let's just see how it goes.

It is finally time to depart from Vegas. Thank you God! I want to go home. I want to go back to normal. However, we're not quite normal because one we are without a pi, and two, we're taking Mom and Katreena with us. Mom says, "Maybe this is the perfect week to ween him off the pi. He's got a playmate for a distraction. We'll be busy going and seeing stuff. Maybe he'll be just fine." Maybe. We get home. Something happens that causes Colin to have a fit. Not a complete melt-down but a good fit. He immediately goes upstairs to his room. He gets on his bed and he asks me, "Mommy, where's my pi?" ....pause....thinking....pause....thinking.... I say with a straight face in all seriousness, "The trash-man took ALL your pis." Colin is so NOT HAPPY! He cries, like he did with the broken record thing and repeats the phrase, "No he didn't! No he didn't! No he didn't! No he didn't" I just said, "Yeah, he did. Sorry buddy. Looks like all the pis are gone." He pouted for a good while over that one. But eventually the distraction of Katreena did exactly what mom had predicted and he forgot about it and went to play. This is Sunday. Daddy eventually gets home from church. He takes Colin and Katreena around the block on the tricycle and big wheel. Of course Colin tattles again. JD, however, is unaware of the new development. Later I hear that Colin let him know that the trash-man APPARENTLY took ALL the pis. I admitted to my little lie. Again, I said, "Let's see how it goes." But by then it wasn't a lie anymore. While they were gone, I had gathered every pi in the house and handed them to my mother (a woman of great strength and fortitude) and she put them in the trash for good. Later JD tells me what he said to Colin. He told Colin that it was probably for the best because Colin was a big boy. And big boys don't have pis, big boys have brand new bicycles. Telling him we could go to the store and buy a new pi or we could go to the store and buy a new bicycle. Planting the seed beautifully so that a healthy memory might grow out of the tragedy instead of an arrow lodged in his heart forever shot by his irrational, unemotional, peer pressured Mommy.

Mom and Katreena and Colin and I had a fun-filled next three days. We wore the kids out to the degree that each night all Colin needed was his milk and for Mommy to snuggle him for a little while. He woke a couple of times but overall did great and the pi became less and less important. Mom and Katreena went home. Colin continues to be strong. Then one day (about 6 days later) Colin tells me from the backseat, "Mommy, if I go so many days without my pi, I get a brand new bicycle." Silently I thanked God for such a great husband. I said, "That's right Colin. You go a little longer with no pi and we'll get you a brand new bicycle."

To end the long version of the story. 15 days later, Colin picked out his new bicycle. He wanted a green one. We had to order it. And on the Saturday before Easter we brought it home. Colin doesn't mention the pi anymore. He doesn't mention how it went away. Teddy's all clean and is still his best friend. He still loves his Mommy and adores his Daddy (rightly so) and all is right with a boy who now recognizes himself as a "big boy!" Hallelujah, praise God, AMEN! My prayer almost a year ago has been answered. No more pi!

Taking the new bike home.
The first ride.