We were out visiting today.  On our ride home, my daughter decided to take a nap in her car seat.  Once we arrived I could not bare to wake her.  So, I sat in the parked car with her while she slept.  Luckily, there was a beautiful breeze, and the Robin entertained me some.  It was peaceful.  I imagine the Robin as a father, working hard to maintain his intricate nest…

Mother Robin called to me from the other side of the nest.  She had a shrill tone in her voice and I knew I must scurry over to her.  “Father Robin…look at what the babies did while they were exercising their wings!”  she shrieked. “What a mess!  There is a hole 1 inch wide here!  What will I do with those babies?”  Oh my, Mother Robin is fretting over the smallest of things lately.  I truly wish she would find some time to fly solo every once in awhile.  I just got back from picking some berries, but I guess I shall go out again to start collecting grasses to patch the hole.  Beastly little buggers, always getting into trouble.   They just can’t grow up fast enough.

My wings were aching from a long day of running errands, and I could feel the heavy weight of my body pulling me toward the ground as I dove out of the nest.  I decided to search for some twigs near the old minty green ranch.  It always has a wonderful crop of dead grasses and leaves.  They make for the best nest patches.  The air is a bit breezy today, and my landing was a little rough.

Fantastic!  It is a gold mine here, Mother Robin will be so happy.  “Whistle while you work”.  Oh, this grass is still stuck in the ground.  Hm, that’s alright, I’ll just give it a little tug or two.  There we go!  Viola!  Oh wait, there is some dirt clumps stuck to it, so I’ll just shake my head as quickly as possible to get them….wait a minute….who is this woman watching me?  Why on earth is she sitting in her car like that?  Maybe I shouldn’t be here, it is kind of creepy.  I’ll just set these grasses down for a moment while I assess the situation.

Hop, hop.  Hm.  Well, I guess she is just going to have to watch me steal from her garden, because there is just too much here, and I am much too tired to find any other place to go.  My mouth is now getting full, this should do it.  Off we go.  Mother Robin will be so relieved to have the hole fixed.  I am so exhausted, I just can’t wait to be done for the night. I will rest my wings on the new grasses, fluff myself a wonderful warm coat, and watch my babies fall into the sweet slumber of the beautiful evening.

We met our match.  The tiny thing we call our baby has created a masterpiece that is the poop.  It was quite a feat…since it took her three days to muster up such an extreme ordeal, but alas, it arrived in silence.  Only by the smell of rotten fruit smacking our nostrils were we notified of it’s arrival.  I was numbed by the aroma of such a poop.  I almost didn’t know how to handle it…where do I lay her?, not here, not there, oh no!, she is starting to cry, hurry, hurry!  Panic began peeking it’s way through me, and I quickly diverted it into a place of motherly confidence.  Now sing to her.  “Hey this was really fun, we hope you liked it too…”  OK, there, on the floor!  The smell, the smell, it was biting me with it’s rabid teeth.  I kept thinking of those old pictures where a mom is pinching her nose shut with a clothespin.  In hesitation, I unwrap each side of the diaper and I start to pull it back.  Centimeter at a time, I begin to see the severity of the situation.  Disaster…Devastation…DOOKIE!

We started down the path of the narrow streets.  The air was brisk, but we were warm.  We were going home, but nature had other plans for us.  The sky began to darken, and the trees were bending their arms downward.  The scraping of their leaves brushing the ground was emitting a loud screeching noise that surrounded us.  We shrunk into our shoulders and walked a little faster.  The sky was opening and starting to cry upon us.  I feared that we would be rushed away in a flood soon, if we didn’t hurry.  Animals ran all around us as if they too were returning to their homes before the storm.  A chipmunk danced at my feet, and then ran as fast as he could down into his hole, his tail pointed toward the black sky.

Faster and faster, her humming turns into a cry.  My feet were cold and starting to get wet as the puddles grew.  The Robin sat on a sign that said “Go There”.  He chirped to me that this would be the fastest way home, and I agreed.  “Thank you Robin”, I yelled.  “Now fly to your nest and protect the babies!”  Crashes of thunder and lightening began, and I could feel the hairs on my arm starting to stand.  The stroller was going full speed, and I ran behind it, splashing in the black puddles.  We passed house after house, and they seemed to be laughing at us with their window eyes glowing.  The streets had never felt so long, and for a moment I thought we might not make it, until we saw the Black Rabbit.

He appeared in front of us, as if from thin air.  He waved for us to follow, and hopped west.  We hesitated, but the clouds growled at us, so we jumped and ran after him.  He hopped and hopped, until he reached a gate.  It was a white picket fence, with a sign that dangled from the lock.  It had beautiful script lettering, very fancy, and read “Go Here”.  The Black Rabbit yelled for us to hurry, so we unlatched the gate, and went inside.  When we walked through the entrance, it felt like the spout in the sky had been closed.  No longer was the rain drenching our now cold bodies.  The sun was brightly shining, and the puffs of clouds were so soft and big that it seemed like we could reach out and run our fingers through them.  There were flowers in all directions, in every color of the rainbow.  The air was warm and a light fog swirled around my ankles.  The Black Rabbit was sitting at a table made from wood, and on the table were little Limoges tea cups filled with candy colored drinks.  Red and blue, pink and turquoise.  Tiny plates were filled with sprinkled cupcakes, and cookies that read “Nosh.”  “Yummy!”, she exclaimed.  I was relieved.  We had entered some kind of magic place, yet we were not afraid.  We sat with the Black Rabbit, and had a snack.  He told us stories about the man with the vegetable garden, and how he likes to put his kind in pies.

After awhile, it was time for us to go home.  He had assured us that there would be no more rain, so we left and were home a short while later.  We never talked about our adventure much, but I knew that we were changed.  Our world was ignited with magic.  We both hope to someday find the Black Rabbit again, but until then, we will only dream of the beautiful world he so kindly allowed us to see.

Her hand grasps a giant plastic sword.  She is slashing her way through the thicket of sleepy-eyed figures that dance around her.  She battles through, swaying from side to side as her arms get heavier and heavier,  her limbs like weights.  She is struggling against the sounds of a babbling brook, and the soft kisses of the blanket that hugs her body.  Fight, fight, fight….she chants.  But, she can go on no longer.  Her fingers begin releasing the sword, one by one.  Then her hand opens and the sword falls to the floor…thud.  Her body caves, her legs, the small of her back, her shoulder, her head.  As she’s collapsing, a tear streams slowly down her cheek.  She has surrendered to the tortured bliss that is nap time.