Too loud to be Thomas

Okay, I will admit it. I heard the loud banging, I heard the gradual thuds down the stairs. I heard the grunts of effort coming from his mouth. But I assumed that as usual, Andrew was throwing pieces of his train set over the stair gate and down the stairs. I know, not the best of occupations, but hey, the stairs are carpeted and it keeps him busy. So I ignored it. If I followed this monkey around all day I would get absolutely nothing done.

However, the banging got louder. The thuds were undeniably too loud to be Thomas and Percy, or even their roundhouse. Even so, I took my time getting to the stairway; I just assumed he had found some slightly larger toys to throw. Eventually however, I came to the conclusion that I had no choice but to investigate. To be honest, after that last thud, I was slightly afraid it was Andrew himself.

As I approached the stairs, my questions were answered. There on the first landing I found two jumbo bottles of Kirkland shampoo, two bottles of Listerine, one bottle of Coppertone suntan lotion, some shoe polish, and a package of 32 Gilette replacement razors. He had been raiding my supply closet! As I am scolding myself for having been a social worker and not having a lock on the closet door, I turn the corner and look up the rest of the stairway. There, at the top, is Andrew, grunting as he hoists a can of "Whipple Blue" Dunn Edwards paint as high as he could muster. I was just in time. One more second of denial, one more dish in the dishwasher, and my currently undecorated stairway would have been painted for me. Blue disaster averted!

While I am putting away all of the bathroom supplies, and PAINT(!!!), Andrew disappears again. When I come back downstairs to look for him, there he is, sitting on top of the kitchen counter, drinking out of a sippy cup that I had just retrieved from the car. He looks up at me, makes a face, and shoves the cup out towards me. "Yuck," he says. I am beginning to think that those child leashes are a good idea.... or at least those child locks.