Thursday, November 09, 2006

Scary

It was 11:15 PM. I was struggling to keep my eyes open so I could catch the end of the Daily Show. The weight of the day was slowly lifting off of me and my muscles were becoming paralyzed; relaxed by the warm comfort of the blanket. Just a few more minutes. Blink. Just a few more…Blink. Just a few...A really long blink. I could feel the remote sliding from my hand. I let it go.

What seemed like a second was actually fifteen minutes when I shot up in bed to the scream I heard on the monitor. Max was yelling. A bad dream. He was calling out in his sleep. I waited a moment, hoping he would fall back to sleep. The green indicator lights on the monitor went quickly from four back to one. Silence. I put my head back on the pillow. I checked the alarm clock to make sure it was set. Blink. I looked at the monitor lights again and could see them pulsing from one to three. What was that noise? It sounds like Max is jumping on the bed. He yelled again.

I went upstairs to calm him down. I opened the door to see that he was on his knees, half hopping half rocking back and forth on the bed.

“Hey Max.” I whispered knowing the monitor was still on in our bedroom. I did not want to wake up Wyatt or Lauren. “What’s wrong?”

Max mumbled something I did not understand. He said it over and over again. I reached and maneuvered him back onto his pillow. “It’s okay. Daddy is here. Go back to sleep.”

He mumbled again as I stroked his hair. He was quickly back asleep. I went back to bed. I checked the clock. 11:35. I grabbed the remote and flipped the channel to Letterman. I heard the intro music and I was asleep again.

“DADDY!” Max’s scream, amplified by the monitor 10 times, woke me up a half hour later. It was not his normal voice. He sounded terrified. I ran up the steps two at a time. I flung open the bedroom door. He was standing on the bed with his arms outstretched, his eyes wide with horror. Once I got close enough to the bed he leapt into my arms.

“What’s wrong Max?” I said looking him up and down for any injuries.

He mumbled. “Hisawpomosis. In the bed.”

“What?” I asked trying to figure out if he was still sleeping.

“Hisawpomosis. Hisawpomosis. In the blankets.”

I moved the blankets and the pillows looking for whatever was bothering him. “What Max? What do you need?”

“Hisawpomosis. In the bed. Hisawpomosis.”

I put him on the floor. I looked into his eyes. He was awake. “I am here. It is okay. Tell me slowly, what is bothering you?"

“His. Awp. Omosis.”

“Hippopotamus?”

“Yes! In the bed.”

I picked him up and took him to my bed. Needless to say I did not get any sleep that night. And I also need to call an exterminator.

27 comments:

Anonymous said...

He may be the next crocodile hunter!

Anonymous said...

Lions tigers and bears Oh my !

Anonymous said...

Man, I don't blame Max...I hate when hippos get in my bed too...

sc@vp said...

a darned big exterminator

Michelle said...

Hippo certainly can be scary. Hope you find an exterminator with a big enough truck!

Anonymous said...

Those darn hippos... Again, that's Florida for you.

Rhonda said...

Poor kiddo. I used to have those kinds of dreams when I was young, but my animal of choice was an elephant. I think a hippo is scarier.

Unknown said...

I knew Florida has a lot of big bugs, but damn... hippotamuses in kids' beds?! That settles it, I'm *so* not moving there...

(I'm glad Max is ok... nobody needs that kind of excitment in the middle of the night.)

Ms. Huis Herself said...

The first dream my toddler ever woke up from and told us about was also about a hippo... but hers was green. *shrug* Don't know what makes hippos so scary, but I guess they are when you're little.

http://musenmutter.blogspot.com/search?q=hippo

Queen Bee said...

Poor guy, those hippopotamuses (hippopotami?) take up a lot of room.

Anonymous said...

I would rock him from top to Bottomus !!!

eclectic said...

Gee William, all you needed was some extra-strength hissawpomosis repellant. Is it too much to ask that you keep that kind of thing on hand for your kids?! I've got several cans under the sink. *sheesh* ;)

Kami said...

Hippos in the bed can't be good.

Mermaid Melanie said...

did you explain that hippos live under water, and that there was no water in his bed? poor little man!

he did pretty good with the word though!

Anonymous said...

Poor Max, lucky you were there :)

kimmyk said...

Aww bless his heart.

Max should know if you can't kill the spider you can't help him with the Hippo. He shoulda called his mom.

I hope you both get some sleep tonight.

Anonymous said...

In his bed??? Wow....that sucks.

Unknown said...

Hehehehehehe...that is so awesome. I mean, not for you, but I just love watching kids and the funny things they think and say.

Lynilu said...

Well, we know who won't be singing "I Want A Hippopotamus For Christmas," don't we?

Anonymous said...

Remember when you woke on Senior Week with the same problem?

Nilbo said...

You can buy Raid Hisawpomosis Coils at any hardware store. They burn for four hours and should keep the area clear, although the smoke they let off is toxic. Better to go with a Hisawpomosis Zapper. The light attracts them, the 60,00 volts (and a local brown-out) later, no problem. Well, except for disposal.

Anonymous said...

William, Max is too little for the Discovery Channel. I watched that show on Hippos this week. Did you ever see a Hippo when his mouth is wide open? Scary. Indeed! Dora the Explorer would be better for him! And he'll learn a second language to Boot! (get it?) Boots is Dora's friend. He can go to Spanish now from the sign language.No nightmares from Dora! Max, I saw a great Moon this past weekend! Did you get my meassage? I love you!

Anonymous said...

Mom,
Max probably isn't allowed to watch Dora because Swiper tries to steal and Bill thinks that automatically will make MAX a theif

ewe are here said...

Hmmm. Perhaps we need to stop reading Boynton's 'Hippos Go Berserk' every day MF.

Judypatooote said...

Welcome to a moms world....... your a good daddy, and Lauren seems to have him trained to call out your name....hehe High Five Lauren!

Susie said...

They're very expensive to get rid of. I find it's better to make tutus for them and teach them to dance. A hisawpomosis in a tutu is not a bit scary.

Anonymous said...

Wow, i didn't realise that house hippos had spread that far ;) watch this video for an explanation ;)

http://www.cca-kids.ca/special/

house hippos even have their own wikipedia entry ;)