Hurty Stuff

You ever had somebody lean into you so that they're pressing into one of your bones? Like the middle of your arm? And they don't really have to press into you very hard for the pressing to really hurt. And then you wanna move, you know, so that the pain stops. But you can't move because they're pressing into you really hard now and you're stuck.

Or how about somebody that pulls on your arm so that your elbow is hyper-extended. I hate that one. It sucks so hard. Like a Shriner Circus or the music of Santana, hyper-extending your elbow should be shot in the face and buried behind the barn where the pig shits. And don't try to change the subject by saying that you like Santana, because you don't.

Two days ago I was sitting on my couch with my 9 year-old. We were watching something on the ol' picture box, let's say it was a Santana video. So as we're watching, he pulls my arm around him so that we're now snuggling. I love it when he does that. But this time, he put my arm around his shoulders and leaned the back of his head into my arm. His skull started pressing into my arm-- right in the middle of my arm-- and it really started to hurt. Lemme tell you right now, 9 year-olds have really sharp skulls. Don't kid yourselves... they're weapons. And even though it was painful, I wanted to keep my arm there, because I really like this kid. He's really great.

And then my 13 year-old and I are talking a few minutes later, and he says something funny, which he does a lot, and I start laughing. And as he and I laugh together, he grabs my arm and hugs me and tells me that he loves me. And he's pulling my arm into him and hyper-extending my elbow as he tells me that he loves me. And even though it hurt, I loved him hugging me so much that I didn't pull away. And as he was hugging me, he said, "I so don't want to go back to dad's house," and just broke my heart. And he kept hugging me, so he was also breaking my arm. But I didn't want to pull away. And I didn't want him to go back to dad's house. And I didn't know what to do, except continue to hug him.

I love those boys. They're pretty remarkable. Especially considering their father. And I can't say that to them, at least not now. Probably not ever. It's really hard loving somebody else's kids.

Sure wish I could end this with a joke so that you could go to bed laughing, or at least smiling. Maybe tomorrow. I'm too tired and moody right now. Good night.