Not that I believe in any of that, mind you…although both sides of my
family originated in the land of the Brothers Grimm and their infamous
fairy tales. Read the REAL collection and you’ll understand why they
were told to keep kids scared into obedience.
Still, I have a sneaking suspicion that something weird is going on…
After long, grueling hours of bulldozing and hauling – not to mention
the prodding and…encouraging?? – the room my two boys share was clean
to
the point where vague shapes were once again recognizable as bureaus
and
beds. We even found the dog.
I left to attend to other business hopefully more profitable and most
definitely more enjoyable for a couple of hours. The day’s weather
forecast being “rainy and bleahhhh”, my boys busied themselves with
appropriate indoor pursuits…of course.
When I was ready for a break and came into the
room-that-was-once-not-a-room, I froze, as stunned as a penguin at a
formal dinner. To say it was a mess again wouldn’t do it justice.
“How…how…how…what…” I stammered in my most eloquent stunned-parent
manner.
“Ummmm…it wasn’t us, Dad”, both sons replied in harmony. Knowing they
could never be other than honest and forthright in all things, I
stammered my acknowledgment and staggered away.
It was then it hit me: What else could it be but gremlins or some such
thing? Knowing how such creatures always do the opposite of what you
want, I decided to set a little trap to prove their existence.
I deliberately allowed the dirty dishes to climb to an impressive
height
in the sink. When family members, in concern of health issues, inquired
what the deal was, I replied in a loud voice (so the gremlins could
hear
clearly), “We’ll get those all cleared away in a little while. I’m very
much looking forward to cleaning this great mess. Let us first go to
our
favorite restaurant and feast a while”. Gremlins like that kind of
talk,
you know.
Now I knew that they would scrape, scrub and shine the molding mountain
to pristine cleanliness before we returned. They HAD to – they could
only do the opposite of what I wanted, after all.
Imagine my shock and dismay when I returned to find it all just as I
had
left it…not so much as a spoon soaped. My mind reeled at the conflict
of
reason and my belief. Begrudgingly, I surrendered my budding belief in
such beings and accepted that they did indeed not exist.
My mind then wandered to the damage-stricken scene of the previous day.
“Oh, boooooyyysssss…"
======================================================
With two boys, a dog, a cat, a wife and a household to keep together to
boot, Dan Reinhold is the editor of WAHumor to hang on to his sanity by
showing how insane the work-at-home community can be. Work at home? You
deserve a laugh!
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