Send in the clowns

So yesterday my mother calls to tell me that my father had a pretty bad setback this weekend. He is back in ICU and spent the better part of Saturday and Sunday unresponsive. She is telling me this, choking out the news through tears, while the kids are playing in the backyard.

I notice Little Guy pick up the hose and turn it on, and I calmly signal, then tell him to stop spraying water. He ignores me, so I inch towards him, while still talking to my Mom. As I approach him, he turns the hose on me full blast. He then follows my movements as I sprint all the way to the turnoff, by which point I am completely soaked. I can honestly say that I have never been more angry at that child.

At that moment, my life felt like such a circus, complete with a clown wearing a trick flower on his lapel. Lean in for a sniff and you get the old squirt in the face trick. It's never funny.

I put the phone down and took Little Guy inside for a timeout. As I got back to my Mom and apologized for the interruption, I could hear her laughing pretty hard. So, maybe the whole squirt in the face thing is funny once in a while, hilarious even.

Today, I'm just not seeing the humor in it.