Hearing the Thunder
Disclaimer: I don't own the chocobo franchise. I do own four adorable plushies.:P
Thunder need not be scary.
Done! I shouted, saving the last of my paperwork that I had to submit for the day. I closed my laptop and stretched happily. My ten-week hiatus from life is officially over and I can now go back to what I do best...using Saturday as stay-at-home day or go-out-and-provide-chaos-to-the-world day. Such evil and wonderful thoughts.
The sun had risen for quite some time. My kids haven't woken up quite yet. Exams were next week and they were cramming to get all their projects done. The night before, I heard them all screaming for materials they lacked and had an argument with my eldest son over doing things "at the last minutes". The silence calmed me.
I could here whispering somewhere in the depths of the house, and that's with a snoring husband a few feet away, holding onto my sleeping baby.
"I told you, the tent should be higher!"
"and I told you, if I made it any higher, the ceiling fan will come crashing down! Mommy's going to fry us when that happens."
"Seriously, you two shouldn't be fighting. We can always put it up on the bathroom door."
"Nah, they enjoy fighting. It's in their blood."
I smiled and exited the room, ignoring the grunts coming from Q as he shifted on the bed. I walked slowly across the hall and into...
A sheik's main tent.
On the floor were oodles of other blankets (how'd they get into the laundry area?) which were being held together by clothespins. Two of the ends were being held by small yellow fluffy wings.
She was screaming.
"Higher!" The one holding the blankets said, her cute eyes glaring angrily at the one standing defiantly across her.
"Just right!" The deviant squealed back, pointing his small feathery wings up towards the blankets that were already in place, connected to the edge of their bed, while the other end went over a small table. A book sat on top of the blanket so it won't slip away.
I stared at the other two spectators. One was blinking fast, the biggest of them all, shifting uncomfortably as he wanted the fighting to end so they can continue playing. The other one, the smallest of them all was yawning and treating the entire mishap as the most boring event of the day.
It was time to intervene.
"What's up babies, why are you fighting?" I asked, sitting on the floor beside them. The one holding the blanket ran to me, her little eyes threatening to gush out buckets of tears.
"Almond won't let us put up anymore blankets mommy! He's being mean!" She cried, pointing at her older brother, who was giving me the what-did-I-do look. He protested of course.
"Like I was trying to say, it won't make a difference if you will put that over the top! We can fit just fine under the table!" He huffed, scuttling about in circles, a mannerism of his when he gets mad. I looked at my onlookers. "Any suggestions? Macmac? Tacio?"
They just shrugged. "You know us mommy, we're okay with anything goes." Macmac replied. Tacio looked out the window. "We better decide soon though. There's thunder coming."
I knew what that meant. It meant they needed to get the tent up so they can hide under it during the thunderstorm. They're afraid of thunder. They think they'll be struck down right on the spot and become fried chocobo. They don't want to become dinner, their words.
Q and I have tried different ways to fight their fear of thunder. We tried earphones, but they can seem to hear the thunder over the music. We tried sound-proofing their room, but they tell us they can feel it on the floor. We also tried to purge them with it, that only made it worse. They calmed down a bit after watching Hercules and how Zeus is the God of thunder, but they still like hiding under the sheets. I let them be.
Almond and my female chocobo continued fighting, reaching a pitch that could shatter glass. I felt a shadow loom over me, then a warm hand on my shoulder. I smiled when I turned to look.
"Hey babe," Q said, brushing his hair back. His eyes were droopy and I could tell he was awoken by the screaming, albeit unwillingly.
"Hey babe," I answered back, as he came down to the floor and sat beside me. "sorry if you woke up. Almond and Hazel are at it again. Is Sora asleep?"
He smiled. "Don't worry. She's still asleep. What are they fighting about?"
I sighed. "Oh the usual. They can't seem to agree on anything." We watched as Almond scuttled under the tent, carrying a giant plush toy. Macmac and Tacio decided to join them and got a stuffed toy each from the bed.
The fluffy little chocobo on my lap disappeared and I saw her get her own stuffed toy. She disappeared into the tent and I could hear whispers and small talk until one of them laughed. I breathed in relief. The argument was forgotten, probably because they were distracted. I leaned against Q and whispered "You're a lifesaver." He smiled. "I do what I can, and just in time too."
A thunder clapped.
The four chocobos shrieked but ended up laughing afterwards. I could see their outlines as they played with a flashlight. The movement of the sheets meant they were 'redecorating' inside and didn't want to be disturbed by the likes of mom and dad.
"Why are people afraid of thunder?" I asked no one in particular. Q looked at me and blinked. A second thunder boomed, followed by screaming then laughing chocobos.
"I guess it's that fear of getting hurt. People associate lightning and thunder with pain, and nobody likes pain. Shock is often seen as pain, and the unknown is uncertain. People normally prepare themselves for the worst rather than the best. We are pessimistic in general. We are afraid of things we can't control."
The thunder roared but the chocobos slowly forgot about it. They were too busy playing a board game and arguing on who gets the golden chocobo piece.
Yeah, people are afraid of thunder, but why? What are we afraid of?
Thunder need not be scary.
Done! I shouted, saving the last of my paperwork that I had to submit for the day. I closed my laptop and stretched happily. My ten-week hiatus from life is officially over and I can now go back to what I do best...using Saturday as stay-at-home day or go-out-and-provide-chaos-to-the-world day. Such evil and wonderful thoughts.
The sun had risen for quite some time. My kids haven't woken up quite yet. Exams were next week and they were cramming to get all their projects done. The night before, I heard them all screaming for materials they lacked and had an argument with my eldest son over doing things "at the last minutes". The silence calmed me.
I could here whispering somewhere in the depths of the house, and that's with a snoring husband a few feet away, holding onto my sleeping baby.
"I told you, the tent should be higher!"
"and I told you, if I made it any higher, the ceiling fan will come crashing down! Mommy's going to fry us when that happens."
"Seriously, you two shouldn't be fighting. We can always put it up on the bathroom door."
"Nah, they enjoy fighting. It's in their blood."
I smiled and exited the room, ignoring the grunts coming from Q as he shifted on the bed. I walked slowly across the hall and into...
A sheik's main tent.
On the floor were oodles of other blankets (how'd they get into the laundry area?) which were being held together by clothespins. Two of the ends were being held by small yellow fluffy wings.
She was screaming.
"Higher!" The one holding the blankets said, her cute eyes glaring angrily at the one standing defiantly across her.
"Just right!" The deviant squealed back, pointing his small feathery wings up towards the blankets that were already in place, connected to the edge of their bed, while the other end went over a small table. A book sat on top of the blanket so it won't slip away.
I stared at the other two spectators. One was blinking fast, the biggest of them all, shifting uncomfortably as he wanted the fighting to end so they can continue playing. The other one, the smallest of them all was yawning and treating the entire mishap as the most boring event of the day.
It was time to intervene.
"What's up babies, why are you fighting?" I asked, sitting on the floor beside them. The one holding the blanket ran to me, her little eyes threatening to gush out buckets of tears.
"Almond won't let us put up anymore blankets mommy! He's being mean!" She cried, pointing at her older brother, who was giving me the what-did-I-do look. He protested of course.
"Like I was trying to say, it won't make a difference if you will put that over the top! We can fit just fine under the table!" He huffed, scuttling about in circles, a mannerism of his when he gets mad. I looked at my onlookers. "Any suggestions? Macmac? Tacio?"
They just shrugged. "You know us mommy, we're okay with anything goes." Macmac replied. Tacio looked out the window. "We better decide soon though. There's thunder coming."
I knew what that meant. It meant they needed to get the tent up so they can hide under it during the thunderstorm. They're afraid of thunder. They think they'll be struck down right on the spot and become fried chocobo. They don't want to become dinner, their words.
Q and I have tried different ways to fight their fear of thunder. We tried earphones, but they can seem to hear the thunder over the music. We tried sound-proofing their room, but they tell us they can feel it on the floor. We also tried to purge them with it, that only made it worse. They calmed down a bit after watching Hercules and how Zeus is the God of thunder, but they still like hiding under the sheets. I let them be.
Almond and my female chocobo continued fighting, reaching a pitch that could shatter glass. I felt a shadow loom over me, then a warm hand on my shoulder. I smiled when I turned to look.
"Hey babe," Q said, brushing his hair back. His eyes were droopy and I could tell he was awoken by the screaming, albeit unwillingly.
"Hey babe," I answered back, as he came down to the floor and sat beside me. "sorry if you woke up. Almond and Hazel are at it again. Is Sora asleep?"
He smiled. "Don't worry. She's still asleep. What are they fighting about?"
I sighed. "Oh the usual. They can't seem to agree on anything." We watched as Almond scuttled under the tent, carrying a giant plush toy. Macmac and Tacio decided to join them and got a stuffed toy each from the bed.
The fluffy little chocobo on my lap disappeared and I saw her get her own stuffed toy. She disappeared into the tent and I could hear whispers and small talk until one of them laughed. I breathed in relief. The argument was forgotten, probably because they were distracted. I leaned against Q and whispered "You're a lifesaver." He smiled. "I do what I can, and just in time too."
A thunder clapped.
The four chocobos shrieked but ended up laughing afterwards. I could see their outlines as they played with a flashlight. The movement of the sheets meant they were 'redecorating' inside and didn't want to be disturbed by the likes of mom and dad.
"Why are people afraid of thunder?" I asked no one in particular. Q looked at me and blinked. A second thunder boomed, followed by screaming then laughing chocobos.
"I guess it's that fear of getting hurt. People associate lightning and thunder with pain, and nobody likes pain. Shock is often seen as pain, and the unknown is uncertain. People normally prepare themselves for the worst rather than the best. We are pessimistic in general. We are afraid of things we can't control."
The thunder roared but the chocobos slowly forgot about it. They were too busy playing a board game and arguing on who gets the golden chocobo piece.
Yeah, people are afraid of thunder, but why? What are we afraid of?