Hercules, Hercules!

Well, I finally took a day off today to rest and recharge. It’s the first day off I’ve had since the pandemic hit and we’ve been home bound. There didn’t seem to be a point before now, since I’m already home with Troy, and we can’t go anywhere anyway. But my wife had to switch her schedule this week, so she’s unexpectedly home today. It seemed like the perfect time to get a little help with the baby and get some “play” time in for myself as well.

So, I called up a friend, and we were playing games online, which I haven’t done since maybe February. We were right in the midst of an intense battle with some demons of hell, when I hear this loud commotion come from downstairs. My wife is yelling, the baby is crying, and then I heard a series of words that froze my heart. “I need your help please, I’m having an emergency.”

As I leapt furniture and took the stairs three at a time, a million thoughts shot through my head; none of them positive. Was it Troy? Was it my wife? Was someone bleeding to death? How fast could I get to a hospital? And so on, and so on. But as I came around the corner into my wife’s office, I was completely unprepared for what I saw. It definitely wasn’t one of the million thoughts I’d just had on the way downstairs.

No blood. No injuries. My wife was standing there with the entire ten-foot curtain, that used to be hanging on her wall, draped over her head, shoulders, and out-stretches arms. And in her hand was one end of the curtain rod, which had ripped completely out of the wall, anchor and all. I looked up to see a gaping hole where it used to be.

After helping my wife dismantle the curtain rod and disentangle herself from the curtain, I asked the obvious question. “What the heck happened?” Apparently, the lawn guys had come by today to trim the front bushes and were stomping around in the flower bed. Hearing them outside, and his curiosity getting the better of him, my son wanted to look out of the window. But the curtain was blocking his view, so he had pulled it to the side. And while still holding it in his little iron grip, he had gotten so excited by the sights outside that he had inadvertently tugged on it while he was jumping up and down. Not realizing his own strength, he had tugged so hard that he had completely ripped the curtain rod off the wall!

I looked over to where he was standing, expecting to see fear or contrition. Instead, I saw curiosity and maybe pride. He had no real concept of what he’d just accomplished. He just wanted to play in the thick, flowing curtain which now laid within his grasp. He is so ridiculously strong for a one-year old. I fear this is not the last thing in this house that I’ll have to repair. Our little Hercules.