Smooth Sailing

February 1, 1974

February 1, 1974

One Friday morning, Lorraine Morrison found herself drawing a sketch of the frozen lake while her children played in living room. Lorraine's drawing was still a work in progress - she hadn't even started on the trees and houses on the other side of the lake, but who could blame her when she was constantly being distracted? Even now, Phil was chasing Holly with a plastic dinosaur. "Mom!" Holly whined.

"What is it?" Lorraine asked. Holly didn't explain anything before bursting into tears, but Lorraine comforted her anyways. "It's going to be okay," she said.

"No!" Holly shouted, still sobbing.

"It's not my fault!" Phil said.

"I never said that it was," Lorraine said. "You do need to be nice to your sister though."

"I am!" Phil exclaimed.

Eventually, Holly stopped crying, and she said, "I want to play with toys again." She jumped off of the couch, and Phil and Holly went back to playing with their toys. Now that whatever problem had upset Holly so much was resolved, Lorraine went back to drawing. Something was off though. Her sketch didn't quite reflect the lake, and she wasn't sure what she was missing. Lorraine wished that she was a better artist, but she never had the time to practice with the kids around. She wouldn't trade them for the world though. Lorraine loved Phil and Holly, and she would have time to learn to draw when they were older.

The children entertained themselves for about ten minutes, but they soon needed Lorraine's help again. "Mom!" Holly exclaimed. "I want to watch Sleeping Beauty!"

"I don't!" Phil said.

Lorraine sighed and set her pencil down again. "Maybe it's time for a nap," she suggested.

"No!" Holly said.

"I'm not tired!" Phil added.

"I'll let you two play for a little longer, but it does seem like a nap would be a good idea," Lorraine said, wishing that her husband was here. He was working until seven tonight, and in her opinion, that didn't give the family nearly enough time together. If Edward was here, then he could help resolve the kids' arguments, but he was at work, and it was all up to Lorraine.

Holly and Phil started tossing a ball around, and Lorraine went back to her drawing, which still seemed quite insufficient. It was nearly finished now, but something about it didn't look right at all. Lorraine put in a few finishing touches, giving up on trying to make it any better. However, she was interrupted yet again.

"Mom!" Holly screamed, and Lorraine rushed over to see that Holly had bruised her knee. Lorraine helped her daughter up, but nothing Lorraine did seemed to help. "I want a Band-Aid," Holly complained.

"It's not bleeding," Lorraine said.

"I want a Band-Aid!" Holly shouted, as if increasing the volume would help her case.

Lorraine went into the bathroom and found a Band-Aid with Bert and Ernie on it. "No!" Holly said. "I want Big Bird!" Lorraine, not wanting to argue with Holly, found one with Big Bird on it and stuck it on Holly's knee.

"Is this better?" Lorraine asked.

"Yes," Holly said.

"Excellent," Lorraine said. "I think it's time for both you and Phil to take a nap."

"I want to hear a bedtime story first," Phil said.

Lorraine liked this idea - she actually enjoyed telling stories from her kids. Sometimes, however, she got the sense that her kids didn't like hearing her stories. Lorraine led Phil and Holly into their bedrooms, and while Holly immediately fell asleep, Phil decided to wait for Lorraine to tell a story.