The Berenstein Bears

The childhood classic saved the day at the Manna house tonight. Not the written version. We had an emergency and had to rely on the television series. Yes, it was that bad.

I spent the night getting ready for my family's arrival while Justin crammed for an exam tomorrow night. It should have been easy, leaving me with enough time to catch up on Private Practice and watch Survivor as it aired. Except it wasn't. At all.

Robbie woke up around 8:00 and stood in his crib quietly until he saw me through the crack in my bedroom door; I was putting away laundry and hoping Robbie wouldn't see me. He made eyes at me for a little while, giving me that sleepy smile of his that melts my heart. He even went so far as to lay his head on his arms.

And then all hell broke loose. For forty-five minutes. I have no idea what happened, but it was epic. It started with just regular crying. I finished what I was doing, hoping he would eventually decide to go to sleep. When he didn't, I went down to get a bottle. By the time I got back, Robbie was out of control: whole body screaming. I tried to hold him on my lap and give him the milk, but he kicked his way to the ground, where he continued his screaming. Justin eventually came in and got the same result.

We thought maybe a change of scenery would help, so we took Robbie to our room. He refused to let any of us touch him, including Grover, who put herself right in the mix. We eventually took his pajamas off, but that did no good. A few times he threw himself at me and held on with a crazed madness I've never seen before. Then, as quickly as he'd thrown himself at me, he threw himself off, refusing to be touched.

So we did the only thing I could think of: we put on The Berenstein Bears. It took a few minutes for Robbie to notice it was on. It must have been my fabulous singing that got his attention (yes, I know the words to the theme song). I have no idea what he finds so intriguing. But thank God there's something.

I still have no idea what happened with Robbie tonight. He wasn't hungry or wet or in pain. Just very tired. And wicked upset. Oh, and did I mention that he's still awake and it's 10:40? I guess he's staying awake to see Nona, Pops, and Aunt Hil, who should be walking through the door any minute.