Jealousy

Timmy, the Express, and Jeremy

We have a problem with little Timmy. He would not allow me to get close to mummy. Whether it’s just lying next to mummy on the bed, or with my head on her tummy, or hugging her – he would whine and complain, and generally do his darndest to push me, kick me, or hug mummy tightly and try to wedge himself between us. Once, when we refused to give in, he walked to the side of his bed and lifted one leg over the side rail – as if he was going to jump. That was meant to distract us and make us jump to his rescue, but we just laughed incredulously at his faked “suicide” attempt. He never tried that again.

I don’t know what his problem is. Mummy has always been his dearest, of course – he would rather sleep on his own than to allow me to sleep on mummy’s side of the bed, next to him, when mummy’s not back by bedtime. “Go far away”, he would say as he instructs me to get back to my side of the bed with Jeremy. Fine, I can take that - I’ve still got the ever-loving Jeremy. But not allowing us to be intimate is something else…

To be fair, after the lights are off he does allow us to kiss goodnight, as we do with him and Jeremy. But he would supervise – strictly on the cheeks only, not on the “mouth”. We did it once on the lips, and he started wailing. Ironically, the only way we could pacify him is to do it again – this time on the cheeks, of course.