Matthew, Matthew, Matthew

So the other night I was watching a movie and Matthew and Brittany come upstairs to tell me they need to show me something. Now when one of my kids says "I need to show you something" my first reaction is to shut my eyes very tightly. You know kinda like when they say "smell this". My first instinct is to protect myself!

So, I slowly got up off the couch; either because I was very reluctant to go downstairs or because my couch tends to swallow my ass and it is hard to get up. Anyway, Brittany is crying and laughing at the same time and Matthew is just laughing.

As I walk downstairs, Matthew is telling me what happened. Now my son Matthew for those of you who don't know him is the reason I color my hair! Ever since he was born he has been afraid of nothing, has always pushed the limits, has rebelled (to an extent) against any authority, and is the thrill seeker. Because of this, I had no idea what to expect when I went downstairs. For all I knew, he turned his room into an underwater man cave (don't get any ideas Matthew).

Apparently he and Brittany were sitting in the downstairs hallway and he told her to kick him in the chest. He told her to start out soft and kick harder each time. (Yes, this is what my son does for fun) So I guess she started kicking him and on the last kick, the hardest kick, she kicked his ass through the wall! Now I think Brittany thought I was going to be angry about the gaping hole in my wall, but when I got downstairs all I could do was laugh! Laugh at the giant hole in the wall, but also at my son for being so smart!!

Ya ya ya I know that he probably could have been hurt from this, but this is Matthew. I cannot go through my life worrying about him because of the "bright ideas" he comes up with. If I did that, I would never get any sleep and would be highly medicated because the worry would consume me.

So we are all looking at this hole in the wall (by now everyone in the house was downstairs staring at this hole that is the size of Matthew's back) and wondering how in the hell we are going to patch it. The next conservation went a little like this.....

Sam: Dad is gonna be pissed!

Matthew: We can totally fix that! It's not that hard to do!. All we have to do is cut it here and here and put a piece there and get some mud and some tape and......

Me: Really? we can fix that?

Matthew: Ya we can fix it before dad gets home and he'll never even notice.

Mom: Are you high? Your dad the carpenter? Your dad who has to have everything perfect when he builds something? That dad? He's not gonna notice? Are you high Clairie? We can't fix that!

When I was a kid, I got mad at my brother and kicked the bathroom door. When it flew open, the doorknob went through the wall. I remember being so scared at the thought of my dad being pissed off about the hole. I also remember the time that we (my brothers and I) broke one of the windows in the house. My dad was pissed because he had told us a thousand times to not throw the ball near the house. While he was gone buying a new window, we somehow managed to break another one! So at this moment I knew how Matthew was feeling. I honestly didn't know if Rich would be mad or not. I had no idea how he would react.

Yesterday, I called Rich after I was finished at work to see how he was enjoying Alaska. We were talking and I decided to tell him about the "wall incident". He started laughing and laughed even harder when I told him about the idea of us fixing it. I can do a lot of things, but patching drywall is not one of them. Anyway, I told him I was going to leave the hole for him to deal with when he gets home.

I think Matthew was quite relieved that his dad wasn't mad. When Rich patches the wall, I think that Matthew should help him because I am sure this will not be the only time it has to be done. After all, Matthew does have three more years at home until college!

Matthew George, I love you with all of my heart and daily life with you is an adventure that I wouldn't trade for the world! But I am thankful that you were not twins!