Never assume anything

There are a few things I like about renting a house and a few things I could definitely do without.  Hot water heater goes out:  a good time to be renting.  Faulty smoke detector goes off in the middle of the night, landlord replaces it the next day.

However, I don't get to choose all of the furnishings, and my least favorite were the long curtains in the front windows.  These windows are high and wide, with a sill just two feet above the floor.  In other words, they were a great place for a small boy to climb while wearing only his underwear.  I would find Benny pressed full length against the glass, amusing the neighborhood with a little dance.  When you're already standing on a ledge in your underwear, it's only natural that you grab the handiest thing to swing yourself down.

Yesterday I could hear the kids playing in that room, Olivia would come around the corner occasionally to feed me plastic food from her play kitchen, so I assumed Benny was playing chef and Olivia waitress.  When I assume things about Benny, that is what usually gets me in trouble.  I came around the corner to find the Tarzan-want-to-be swinging in between the two curtain panels.  Feet off the floor, arching through the air to grab the other curtain and transferring his weight as the curtain rod sagged alarmingly.

It would have been an impressive display of athleticism in any other circumstance.

I screamed, Benny started and fell, and the curtain rod bounced back into place.

This is the face of a child who is constantly
up to no good.

I climbed up to check the screws holding the rod into the wall.  The very last groove in a very short screw was clinging stubbornly to the drywall. It's really only a matter of time before that thing comes crashing down on his head.  I'll keep you posted.