HOME | DD

Description
I set Kieran down on the far side of the living room, but within my line of sight. The house needed to be picked up a bit, especially the kitchen, so I let him play on his own while I tried to make a dent in the dishes that had piled up in the sink. I could hear him babbling, trying to figure out which toy to play with first. For a moment, he would be out of sight, but not out of mind.

The dishwasher made a racket as I finished scrubbing the remaining plates. I was lost in a different world, ear buds in place to encourage the passing of time. Kieran was playing with his tractor; the sound of a revving engine and pigs oinking could be heard through my music. He liked buttons, and pushed them as often as he could. The sounds were rarely listened to in their entirety, but at this moment, I barely noticed.

With the dishes completed, I turned my attention back to Kieran. There was an unexpected silence, an eerie silence, coming from the living room. It made me wonder what kind of trouble he managed to get himself into this time. I peered around the corner of the kitchen and gasped.

“Kieran...” I groaned. “What have you done?”

I was greeted with a big grin and a child sitting in the center of a pile of cat food. Most of it was scattered about the room, but his face told me the floor was not the only place it could be found. He flashed me the cheekiest smile he could muster with his mouth full of the tiny morsels.

“Dear Lord, child. Do you ever give up?” I asked rhetorically.

It has been a daily, no, hourly battle with the little man and the small pieces of food. He sought it out every morning when he wakes up, every night before bed, and any time in between; a sneaky little bugger. It was exasperating and hilarious at the same time.

Carefully, I dug the pieces from his cheeks and lifted him from the center of the mess. I vacuumed up the remaining bits and refilled the now empty bowl.

“Cat food is not people food,” I scolded, trying to keep a straight face as I spoke. “We don't eat the cat's food, little man.”

All he did was laugh at me and what I had to say. I was not mad at him, as it was nearly impossible to be mad at “the Dude”, but I was reaching my wits end when it came to him and his fascination with the cat's food. He had his quirks, that was for sure. I picked him up and gave him a massive hug before setting him down. He went back to playing with his tractor and I kept a close eye on him to make sure the cat food was not within his reach.

It was going to be an interesting day...