Hypnotized

So last night's Harvest Festival was so much fun.  I came home exhausted and achy from running my tail off all day, but it was worth it.  Today, I'm trying to squeeze in some photo-editing so I can get ready to upload portraits for guests of the festival to download.  It's a challenge, but it's a challenge I enjoy.

Anyway, while getting everyone set up for the festival yesterday afternoon, I realized a couple tables we were using looked terrible and wanted to rush down to the dollar store nearby to pick up any kind of quick and cheap table coverings.  I left S and J helping at the church with some other people there and took O with me because he was having some issues with tired and grumpy.

If you can imagine, I had pretty much one thing on my mind and that was getting those table coverings and then getting back as soon as I could.  I was in the zone and once we entered the store, I was targeted in my strategy and was able to move in a stealth-like fashion directly towards the party section where I just knew I'd find what I needed.

Meanwhile, O, who was wearing a plastic cross necklace that he'd already acquired from one of the booths that set up early and was entertaining volunteer-staff's children, was doing his best to keep up with me on his tiny legs.  He started swinging his cross necklace back and forth as he walked, getting further and further behind me as I raced to the back of the store.

I heard him say, "Now, I'm going to hypnotize you.  Watch my cross.  It's making you feel very tired."

I barely glanced over my shoulder as I called back to him, "Come on, O, don't hypnotize with your cross ... just keep up so we can get back there."

I kept moving. 

I heard him say, "Now when I snap my fingers, you will lay flat on the ground."

Finally, I reached the tablecloths, grabbed a few of them and turned to head towards the registers.  All the sudden, I realized O was no longer behind me.  I was taking a different path back towards the front, so I went over a couple rows to look for him and there he was, flat on the floor with stiff arms and staring at the ceiling.

"What are you doing?!" I asked impatiently.

"I hypnotized me.  I couldn't walk fast, so I'm just waiting here for you."

Ironically, I think that's the most patient and still he's been while still awake.  But it was slowing me down, so I found myself feeling annoyed about it.  But then suddenly, I just bust into laughter because who else but our kid would lay stiff like a board on the dollar store floor simply because he didn't feel like rushing to keep up with me?  What kind of solution is that?!

Creative, that's for sure.  Self-hypnotism.  Hmm.  Didn't see that one coming.