12.07.07 - 2:27 am

tonight, when i picked up ashton up from alesha the babysitter....something was amiss. his eyes had terrible red circles under them, as if he was strung out on something chemical in nature. like he hadnt slept in well over a month. the poor kid was too concerned with requesting his after dinner cookie to even show any discomfort. he seemed fine.

and then every once in a while he would complain about his legs hurting him. by the time we got home he would even shed some tears when pleading with me to do something. by the end of the evening he was crying in agony. his legs.

i inspected them the best i could, carefully looking for any lumps, excessive bruises, redness, tenderness, sensitive areas under the skin, near the bones, around the joints. nothing. nothing what i would consider unusual.

i did my best to rub his calves, as this is where he said most of the pain was localized. as of right now i still assume growing pains. or some sort of muscular growth and cramping that is afflicted the poor child. i read him another chapter in "tales of the fourth grade nothing" and put him to sleep. an hour later he was awake, crying. his legs.

he was too asleep to make coherant sentences. or even intelligible words. in between the red cheeks and hot tears, through his closed eyes he would dribble out that he didnt want to grow up. he didnt want his legs to hurt. and that the half of ibuprofen pill was not to his liking at all.

when all else fails, whether it be he simply cannot sleep, his stomach hurts, hes too sick or his legs are paining him, i offer my bed in place of his own.

he gleefully accepts. inspite of the tears, if necessary.

and promptly falls asleep and stays that way.