When I got home Friday night, there was a decapitated head on my kitchen floor.
It was facing me as I walked in the door. Backlit by the light over our sink, the spiky, flourescent green hair threw shadows in all directions. The white face had a black scuff mark by its right eye. And the guts were everywhere.
Poor Daddy Lion. The Evil Puppy Mojo had gotten him.
Daddy Lion, in case you're wondering, is the daddy of Baby Lion, who is Sam's all-time-favorite stuffed animal. Though Baby Lion is relatively small and tan and cute, Daddy Lion is an oversized, bright green monstrosity.
And he apparently had a lot of stuffing in his neck area. Most of the stuffing from his head stayed put, but much of what fluffed him out from the shoulders up was strewn across my kitchen and living room floors. I found his body -- with one arm nearly ripped off -- lying beneath a torn curtain in our living room.
I've gotta admit, I had a nightmare that night about carrying a decapitated head by the hair. So I was trying to avoid traumatizing Sam, whom I expected to freak out.
But when she and my husband came home the next day (they stayed overnight at Nana's house), I told Sam something bad had happened to Daddy Lion and that I was going to fix him. Sam, trying to comfort him, reached over to hug Daddy Lion, and his head promptly hit the floor.
Screaming? No. Terror? No. Sam thought it was cool. She snatched the head up by the hair. "I gotta go show Daddy!" she said excitedly, and ran out of the room.
Daddy Lion's head has been returned to his body, although he now looks to his right all the time (what can I say? I'm not a seamstress.) And Sam seems none the worse for having seen him headless.
How have your kids surprised you?
Leave a comment