What is it about a blanket...

Of all the things I do in this world, there is none that brings me more joy than tucking my kids in under a blanket. There is something symbolic about it. Whether it be in their bed at night or on the couch to watch cartoons or in my bed to watch cartoons or in my chair to watch cartoons, the blanket lets them know they are safe and warm and comfy and dry and happy and loved.

Madison was curled up on my chair the other night and I put a blanket over her. She said she was very comfy. She told me when she sees people who are comfy she wants to get comfy too. Not a bad mantra for all.

This morning I put Ian into our bed to watch his morning cartoon and I pulled the blanket up on him and he turned to me and smiled. In that smile, he relayed all of the things I said above. It warmed my heart.

Chompy isn't a blanket person yet. I have a feeling she will be.

I even had use for a blanket the other night. I mentioned to Kelly how I hated this time of year on TV because every station had a scary movie on. You can't flick through the channels without catching a glimpse of something you don't want to see. And after the Amityville Horror incident of 79, if I never see another scary movie it will be too soon. I still hear that music in my head and it scares the beejeebus out of me.

Anywho, the other night I had a dream. A bad one. It was one of those dreams that even after you woke up and went back to sleep it just picked up right where it left off. Kelly and I had bought a new house. A big southern mansion type place. Of course it was haunted. We saw faces and shadows and heard screams and noises. You may be asking yourself, "If you're such a weenie why didn't you just leave?" My answer to that is, "Hey, I'm not a weenie." Well, OK I am. I don't know why we didn't leave. We never slept in the house. The dream took place only over a couple of hours as far as I could tell. The end of the dream occurred when Kelly was stuck in a closet and couldn't get out. I was kicking and pounding on the door to get it open all the while Kelly was crying hysterically and it sounded like she was saying no to something trying to hurt her. I finally got the door open and as I went to hug her I cried out "Go away!" Only it wasn't my voice it was some demonic God-awful cacophony of noise that chilled me to the bone. As I was saying these words I woke up. I could hear myself saying the words as I woke up and I am not a talker in my sleep.

I used the blanket to hide under until morning came. I couldn't go back to sleep. Or maybe I didn't want to go back to sleep.

When you go on a picnic what do you bring besides the food? A blanket to sit on. Doing something cold outside? Bring a blanket to keep warm. When we were kids we would go to drive in movies. We would bring some lawn chairs and set them up in the stall next to the car and sit in those and have blankets over us as we watched Herbie the Love Bug or Benji.

Blankets, quilts, afghans, what have you. Just get under one as soon as you can, alone or with someone else, and enjoy the warmth and security these magical cloth polygons provide.

I think this country needs a big ole blanket.