Peacemaker

The other day I had this lengthy discussion with Tim, and it was on a topic (to be discussed later) that we had, in one way or another, been talking about for weeks. But the conversation had, overall, been very positive except for that night. So, I went to bed kinda mad. Truth be told, that almost never happens. Tim and I aren't a fighting couple, thank God, so I've gone to bed mad maybe three times in the last six years of our marriage. I hate going to bed mad for so many reasons, but mainly because I don't like to leave ugly things festering all night. I know the next day I'll probably be more mad because I'll have had time to dissect and over analyze every word and fall into madness.

It was no surprise then that the following morning I woke up still miffed by my conversation with Tim. At some point in the night, Rain had left her bed and walked herself to our room. When she does this, Tim will lean over, scoop her up, put her between us, and fall asleep again ten seconds later.

As I laid in bed with my eyes still closed, I could feel Rain stirring. I hoped she and Tim would get up quickly, have breakfast together as usual, and give me a few minutes alone to brood. I waited a minute, but Rain continued to shuffle about and ruffle the sheets. I sighed and opened my eyes.

Rain wasn't wiping the sleep from her eyes at all. She was staring at me. When she saw that my eyes were finally opened, she smiled. A right big smile. Then her face became serious. She looked at me for a moment and stuck her tongue out as far as she could. I'd never seen her do it before, and I snorted. That was all she needed. She stuck her tongue out again, and licked her lips all the way around. She swished her tongue side to side like a frog, and I laughed. It was the first time she had every tried to make a funny face, and I was overly proud about the whole thing. She kept her eyes serious, but once she had me really laughing, she smiled as if she was very pleased with herself.

Tim awoke to me laughing. I'm sure it was the very last sound he thought he'd hear that morning. But Rain made it happen. Just when I think I've reached some kind of boiling point, she cashes in all her cute and cuddly chips. She does something that makes me look at her and think, "You are the very best of me and Daddy, and how can someone wonderful like you be made from anyone but a madly in love pair?" I mean, really, the feelings were all kinds of ooey-gooey. I don't know if she has some knack for self-preservation (like keeping us happily together is in her best interest??), but honestly, it's like she knows just when to whip out the charm and get me feeling all joyous again.

Which is a pretty stinky thing when you've lost sleep all night thinking of ways to be petty. Oh well.

On the upside, Tim & I did resolve our issues that day, and to be honest, if Rain hadn't been so loving that morning, well, I wouldn't have felt much incentive to fix things quickly.

Hmm. From Rainzilla to Rain the Peacemaker? It must be the holidays.