4 year olds and hair coloring...it's a conspiracy.

I've been waiting to write and post this particular little anecdote until my hair came down and it was once again colored to my normal shade.

You see I am convinced that Tater is in league with the cosmetics companies that create hair coloring.

Yes, that's right. He's somehow been brainwashed by them into doing things that are guaranteed to turn my hair gray. I know there isn't money involved because he'd probably be sporting some shiny new tractor or ride on toy.

Here's the latest "incident' that made my hair stand on end and go gray with a quickness that would make Jackie Joyner Kersee smile.

Tuesday I was home from work with Sweet Tater. She felt like she'd been hit by a bus. Believe me, I know because she was so pitiful and just miserable all day. At one point in the mid afternoon, I was rocking her to try to get her to sleep. Finally, she gave up and got into a deep sleep. Well, during this process I decided to let Tater go outside. Purely selfish reasons here - he was not helping with the "get the sister to sleep by being quiet" project.

After gently tip-toeing to her room and laying her down in her crib, I decide to make sure he's in one piece. Must have been some sort of premonition on my part...somewhat dulled by lack of sleep and the ringing in my ears caused by the constant whining and crying sick baby. He was playing "mountain climber" on the steep part of the hill, I guess, between our front porch and the carport. He had one of my horses lead ropes attached to the gutter on the carport.

I reached up to unclip it and the thought struck me that ... hmmm, how did he get this up there? Well apparently I didn't phrase it right the first time. Tater looked up at me and giggled and said he didn't want to tell me. So instead of screeching at him and flipping out, I merely said, "c'mon, tell mommy cuz I wanna know." Well he politely informed me that he climbed up there and hooked it on. Climbed up ON THE ROOF OF THE CARPORT and clipped the lead rope onto the gutter...while LEANING OVER the gutter. GASP!!! Then climbed down. (No big deal, mommy ~ as I'm envisioning clutching my chest and having to call 911 myself because I'm having a heart attack just remembering it.)

This is where God reached down, put one hand over my mouth and propped me up with the other because I swear to you, I would have screamed and fainted had He not.

I proceeded to reach up, unclasp the lead rope and coil it up while telling him in a bright, albeit strained voice, that we needed to go inside for a while. Once inside, I promptly told him to go play in his room and not come out because mommy needed a minute. He asked if he was in trouble and I told him "I honestly don't know."

Well, there was no major explosion on my part but we did have a rather long discussion about what could have happened. He's also not allowed to play outside without a grown up from now on.

I am going to buy stock in Miss Clairol.

Incidentally, his daddy didn't believe me at first. Took him a few minutes and then HE sprouted a few new gray hairs...thank you very much.