DYLAN and NICK…..Firefight over TV
THE MORNING ROUTINE was a joy….my husband, a Civil Engineer working in the City, left home early before the boys were awake.
Milking done, I would let the goats out of their cosy shed, open the gate of the sheepfold (dog attacks were a constant menace….so I herded them uphill and into safety every night), chickens released, to free range far and wide…..I would return to the house, strain and bottle the milk, and start on breakfast. My little boys would wake, run straight to the lounge room and Dylan would turn on the TV….a godsend for a busy Mum. The kitchen was down the hallway from where they were, so, after morning greetings, I’d get their breakfast, make school lunch for Dylan (whatever needed doing), before School and Kindergarten.
I hadn’t had time to light the fire, so, being a cold morning, I left them sitting together…..eyes glued to the screen, with a small radiator carefully placed well out of their way, to warm up the lounge room.
THEN ALL HELL BROKE OUT!!! A fight had started over choice of programs, not witnessing the “hows and whys”, I can imagine it easily. Nick, being only 2 and a half, wanted to watch Sesame Street…..but Dylan considered it far too babyish….he wanted to watch Gigantor, a violent Japanese Cartoon. So, Dylan got up and switched channels right in the middle of Nick’s favourite show…..Nick, always holding his own would have launched himself at both Dylan and the Television set, and struggling to get what they each wanted, they kicked over the radiator…..which came to rest against the newly upholstered Couch, just home a week.
It took only seconds for me to be on the scene, but by then, the far end of the couch, blackened and smouldering with a lovely red glow, was ruined. I filled a large saucepan with water, chucked it into the mess, then with the fire safely out, radiator and tv, turned off, my subdued sons went to their bedroom to get ready for School.
What did I do about it???
SOMETIMES the best action to take is to leave the scene. Too upset to speak, I walked out of the house, sat down in the garden, and watched the animals grazing peacefully…..surrounded by my three dogs, they settled down around my feet, having licked my face, sympathetically.
I sat, breathed deeply, soaking myself in farmyard serenity, then calling to the children….we climbed into the car, drove to their separate places of respite, and coming home I walked the dogs, down the hill, across the creek and into the Chestnut Wood.
AHHHHHHH, sweet peace and harmony……
MA© Summer 2018
To be continued…..