The Moments - Chapter 18: Family Trees Grow In Disneyland and Dreamland

                Growing up around a lot of my extended family, I got pretty good and keeping track of how I am related to people and “what level of cousins” I am with folks who may not even realize we share blood.  It’s a complicated process, and I know I wasn’t always good at it as a little boy.  Figuring all of that out starts, naturally, with one’s close family and the realization that there is a biological or official connection associated with the names and titles we use for members of our family.  Joey gave some funny reminders of this recently. 

                Last Wednesday, as is our typical after-dinner routine, we called my parents (Daddy J and Mama Tee) for a few minutes before reading some books and getting ready for bed.  As it had gotten late, we decided to only read two books before Joey took a bath (we often read four or five).  Joey and I each chose a book, and Joey picked one of his new Bible story books with one-page versions of various Bible accounts from the Garden of Eden to the Resurrection.  When covering Joseph, this book places focus on the coat of many colors and the plot by Joseph’s brothers to cast him in a well and later sell him into slavery.  Joey has gotten into the habit of stopping me after reading a page in a book to ask questions or point out things that he finds interesting.  When we read the book’s short account of Joseph, he pointed to the picture of Joseph’s brothers and started talking about them.  Among the random points he made, he finally said, “But, I don’t have any brothers.”  To which I replied, “No, you don’t.  But I do.  Who is my brother?”  Joey sat there on my lap thinking for a moment.  I thought he would soon realize that the answer was “Uncle Dusty,” so I didn’t want to give it up too quickly.  His very frequent response of late, “I don’t remember,” came out.  I said, “Ok, if I have a brother, that means it is someone who has the same parents as me.  So who are my parents?”  This one, I didn’t think would be a problem, as my parents and I have pointed out several times that Mama Tee and Daddy J are my mommy and daddy.  Joey sat and thought longer, “Ummm.  Ummm.  Mickey and Minnie?”  I looked over at Krista who was sitting nearby and laughed.  “No, Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse aren’t my parents.  But don’t that sound fun?” I said as we laughed.  “No, not Mickey and Minnie.  Who are my parents?  They’re your grandparents.”  To that, Joey locked on with, “Mama Tee and Daddy J!”  Ok, first mission accomplished.  Now, back to the initial point.  I continued, “Ok, so if Mama Tee and Daddy J are my parents, who else would say that they are his parents?  Who is my brother?”  Joey’s look of deep thought was genuine, but I knew he needed a nudge, “It would be your Uncle ___.”  He filled in the blank with, “Uncle Larry?”  Kinda close.  “No,” I said, “Uncle Larry is Mama Tee’s brother.  My brother is your Uncle ___.”  He had it now, “Uncle Dusty!” he shouted.  Bingo!  We had us a winner.  Before continuing to read the book, I said, “That’s right.  Uncle Dusty.  And, I’m sure he’ll be happy to find out that Mickey and Minnie Mouse are now our parents.”  Genealogy lesson and Disney preview over.  Back to reading about the Lord.

                Krista headed home, and the rest of the night followed our usual routine: take a bath, put on pajamas, comb hair, brush teeth, go to bed.  I stayed up a while to straighten up the kitchen and iron some of Joey’s clothes.  However, he seemed to continue our earlier conversation when I checked on him later.  Before I went to bed, I quietly stepped into Joey’s room to check on him.  He was fast asleep but had maneuvered himself into a weird position with the covers.  I carefully reached down to adjust the sheet and comforter over him when I heard him say in his sleep, “Mama Tee.  Daddy J.”  I froze for a few seconds and then continued what I was doing.  As I pulled my hands away from him, I again heard “Mama Tee.  Daddy J.”  I had never heard him speak so clearly in his sleep.  Assuming our earlier talk had him dreaming about his grandparents, I stepped away and went to my room to visit dreamland as well. 

                Early the next morning, I was gently awakened when Joey climbed into my bed, where he would sleep the next 2 or 3 hours before getting up for the day.  I awakened at that point just enough to adjust my alarms so that I could get a few extra minutes of sleep in myself.  I fell back to sleep pretty deeply and later woke up from a disturbing dream.  It was good to see my little boy next to me after that.  He slept a while longer, and I began to get myself ready for the day.  When Joey later emerged from my room, just after 7:30, I was in the kitchen and he chose some cartoons for us to watch over breakfast.  Sleepy-eyed, he climbed on the chaise lounge in our living room and said, “I slept in your bed, Daddy.  I like
sleeping in your bed.”  I walked over to him and said, “Yes, you did.  I’m glad you did.  I had abad dream this morning, and I was glad that you were there when I woke up.”  Then, thinking about my experience with a sleep-talking Joey around Midnight, I asked, “Did you have a dream about Mama Tee and Daddy J last night, Joey?”  Thinking the response would be “yes” or “I don’t remember,” I was just a little surprised when he quickly replied, “No.  I had a dream about Elvis.”  I giggled a little and said, “Really?  You dreamed about Elvis?  Well, ok.”  Then Joey qualified his dream by saying, “Yeah, I dreamed about Elvis, because he’s done so much good stuff.”  Then, I went on preparing breakfast and Joey began to watch… you guessed it – The Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.
                At 3 years old, I think Joey climbs the family tree fairly well.  He loves his Uncle Dusty, even if he doesn’t automatically associate him as my brother.  And, he certainly loves his grandparents.  Apparently, he can’t quit talking about them (day or night!).  Even if he wants to declare Mickey and Minnie as my parents, I see that as the compliment of Joey realizing that I’m pretty close to being a living cartoon.  And, even if he doesn’t think he dreams about Mama Tee and Daddy J, I’ll bet they were singing backup for the King or playing supporting roles in whatever Elvis movie ran through Joey’s head that night.  Sweet dreams!