Out of Feelings

The other night Stephen was annoying Timothy right before bed to the point where he needed a little disciplining, after which I climbed into bed with him to snuggle and talk through what just happened. We had another one of those moments where Stephen was soooo serious and I was trying sooooo hard not to crack up in his face.

I was laying there just holding his hand, ready to give the matronly lecture about torturing little brothers by swinging their stuffed monkeys by the tail when Stephen looked me straight in the eye and said so woefully, "Mommy, I only have two feelings left!"
"Only two left? And how many did you start with?"
"I had 1000 of them!"
"When did your feelings start?"
"Since the day I was born! But now I only have two left because you took them all away!"
"What happens when all of your feelings are gone?"
Silence.
Snicker from Mommy.
Glare from Stephen.
"I don't know, but don't take them away because I might die."

Today I told him he had to finish his homework before he played on the computer and he plopped himself down on the floor with a wail and shouted, "NOW all my feelings are gone!" The good news is that he did not die when he ran out of feelings AND he told me that he could get some feelings back if I gave him a hug for 1000 hours. We hugged for quite some time, not 1000 hours, but I think he has his feelings back.