Mommy in Wonderland

This morning as I blearily stumbled into the kitchen where Chris was microwaving frozen blueberry pancakes for the kids, Izzy held up a plastic Easter egg, one with a 3D bunny on it, and he says, "God doesn't like this pig, so he told me to put it in here."

I tell him no, God loves everyone and everything the same, and I walk away. At 7 am, I'm not feeling like having a theological discussion.

Chris leaves for work, and I decide to pack Izzy's snack for preschool before I hit the showers. I holler, "Hey Iz, bring me your lunchbox!"

He dances in the kitchen and says, "Sorry, you're going to have to take care of my pig today," and he dances away.

I say, "Where's your backpack and your lunchbox?"

He dances back and says, "Oh, I don't know. I can't hear you over my music." He reaches up to his ear and adjusts his magical invisible radio, and hands me a little bag to his doctor's kit. "How about this?"

"Okay," I tell him.

I put his lunch in the doctor's kit and I'm struck by how truly magical and surreal my everyday life is. I decide I simply must risk being late for preschool by coming in here and typing this up.

But my computer has uploaded some update and is insisting on restarting. As I wait for it to reboot, Izzy comes into the sunroom, head bobbing, and shoulders keeping beat to his internal music.

"Still listening to your music?," I ask.

"Yes," he says. "Here, I have another one here in my pocket."

He checks several pockets of his jeans, then says, "Oh, here it is." He reaches up and puts it on my ear. His invisible music machine.

I start keeping the beat, coolly bouncing like my son.

He says, "The doctor put the music in my brain."

"Oh?"

"He cut a hole right here," he says, making a circle pattern on the side of his cheek, "and he put all the music inside, then he closed it back up with doctor's glue."

"Huh," I said.

Izzy strutted back to the living room, shoulders swaying, and head nodding. I turned towards the keyboard, bemused smile on my face, and a magical beat in my heart.