“Hakuna Matata; it means no worries!” Lake has the gall to be shouting incessantly after today’s poopocalypse, falling quickly on the heels of the epic-emesis affair that constituted his stomach flu of the last half-week. Our cursed upstairs carpet has been severely taking a beating this sickness go-around. I’m down on my hands and knees scrubbing poo-splosion up out of the carpet in our bedroom and he climbs onto my back like a horse rider. Somehow he managed to get the post flu creamy diarrhea poo to completely fill up and drip out of his diaper and pants as he walked slowly around my bed. A bit of a rude awakening for me from both of our afternoon naps. I let him know it was not a happy way for me to conclude my nap. He asks me repeatedly in between my expressions of discontent with complete guilelessness, “Did you have a nice nap Mama?” I was admonishing him on the insanity of pooing in his diaper at the foot of my bed when there is a toilet right next door, when he calmly replies “I’m not ready to use the toilet yet Mama”. When then?? I ask. He looks at me. I decide to take a leap of faith in my favor. Tomorrow? “Yes, tomorrow,” he confidently confirms. Okay then, we are making a chart for Lake’s pooprogress! A smiley for toilette pee and a star for toilette poo. He asks for a moon and a cow and a pig for toilette poos. Anything you wish for we will draw on your chart darling, when you poo in the toilette. Lord have mercy!

“Hakuna Matata! It means no worries.” This guy! And then as we’re getting ready for bed he comes up with, “I hope and pray I can spend my life with you…” Yes darling, you are my shining star; have no doubt about that. Definitely a strange kind of perfect day. I am glad I spent it with you, Lake. (And I am also preemptively glad for the toilette chart to be a smashing success!)