Heavenly morning (by MJC)

This morning went so well it was heavenly. I woke up early and made croissants for hosting my men's group. I have always said that croissants are a heavenly pastry-- they are like buttery clouds of dough with a golden brown crispiness that melts in your mouth as the air within the pastry breathes across your lips. Ahh, how delicious the start of the day was.

It continued with a great Bible study with the guys and good conversation. After they left, I did something different. I took some time to go back upstairs and sit in bed with Katy as she continued to sleep. I rested my head on her belly and felt the baby swimming and kicking around. It was the most peaceful 5 minutes in a long time.

Then I decided to leave for work. But as I walked towards the stairs, I heard Harrison talking. "This is a shirt," he said to himself. It was a moment that I had a decision. Go on to work and ignore what could be a very adorable scene, or open the door to see what he was up to. I opened the door. He looked up at me and smiled. "This shirt is mine," he said to me, holding up a hand-me-down polo shirt which looked like a 3T version of a shirt my dad had worn back in the mid-80s. And so started a great conversation and fun time with Harrison.

I finally asked if he wanted to go potty before I changed his pull-up and his clothes. "No," he said firmly.

"Do you have to go potty?" I asked, knowing that he would answer no, but still hoping his answer would be different. He refused and yelled as I picked him up and brought him to the bathroom. His yelling and screaming was nearly playful, but at the same time he was refusing and he seemed scared. I said the first thing that came to mind, "Don't worry, the toilet is your friend."

As I stood him in front of the porcelain, he looked at me with a wrinkled brow. "Toilet is NOT my friend!" He insisted.

However, as I got him ready to go, my not-so-talented ventriloquist act broke out with a muffled and high-pitched squeal. I lifted and closed the toilet seat. "Hi, Harrison! How are you!" Harrison laughed then climbed onto the brim. "I'm thirsty," the toilet continued. So Harrison soon started to quench the thirst of his friend and also tried hard to push to feed his friend's hunger (but to no avail). We waited and pushed while reading stories and poems.

"I can't do it! I can't make the toilet not hungry!" he exclaimed after pushing real hard.

"That's okay, Harrison. You did very well. You gave your toilet a drink, and you can feed him later when you get the urge. Just let mommy know when that urge comes, okay?" He nodded, gave me a hug, then flushed. "Gulp! Gulp! Ahhhhhh....Thank you, Harrison," the toilet shrieked as Harrison laughed.

I was so proud of him for that. That he finally warmed up to going potty first thing in the morning, which has been one of the hardest times, yet most crucial time, so they say. But he gave me more hope that he is getting there in his time, in his own way. And he has a friend that he needs to make sure never goes hungry.