The Dream Police

Steve and I had a date Saturday night. We don't go out very often, because it is difficult to find sitters who we feel comfortable leaving the kids with. There is one girl, who the kids love; but she was unavailable. Fortunately, at the very last minute, we were able to get a friend of our neighbor - a very nice, reliable, well-mannered, 13 year-old boy who calls me "ma'am". He called Steve "sir", which sent shivers up his spine; so Steve said he preferred to be called "dude".

Ainsley thought Keith was great from the moment she saw him. She is such a flirt. Ian was quiet and shy at first, not unusual for him. But he was in a negotiating mood - no, Ian wanted to be the Commander in Chief. He was testing Keith to see how far he could push. Fortunately, I forewarned Keith that he would have to be firm with Ian about everything. As long as he stood his ground, Ian would eventually back off.

Things went smoothly when we left. Quick good-bye kisses, everyone in a good mood, and we were out the door without incident. A couple of hours later I thought I heard my cell phone ringing in my purse. Sure enough, I had just missed a call from home. Quickly dialing the number, I got Keith on the phone but couldn't hear him because of the noise in the restaurant.

Steve took the phone to a quieter area to find out what was wrong. Ian had informed Keith that he was scared of the monsters in his room and ordered him to call us because we would know what to do.

Steve offered Keith three suggestions:

1. Tell Ian you are there to protect him, and you aren't going to let anything get him.
2. Take the dog with you, and let her sleep with him.
3. Remind Ian that his Dream Police are standing guard on his dresser to make sure nothing happens during the night.

Thanks to Ian's love of Junie B. Jones books, that third one works like a charm. Junie B. has dream police, and she is hysterically funny, so Ian loves to emulate her. She is also extremely sassy, which he also thinks is cool. Ian's Dream Police are Bionicles and other Lego men he has created. He stations them at key points around his bedroom when he anticipates a scary night. If a bad dream develops, the Dream Police are there to knock out the bad guys.

When we returned home a couple of hours later, everything was quiet. Ian was cocooned in his sheet (he likes to sleep tightly wound so he can emerge like a butterfly in the morning), his face inches from the dog's butt. Both boy and dog were sound asleep.