I was carrying Gideon to his bed the other night when I stumbled over a large pile of toy trains in the dark. I nearly dropped the half asleep little man and grit my teeth as his eyes popped open and stared at me for a second as I lowered him into bed.

“It’s okay, Gideon. Daddy, just stepped on some trains. You can go to sleep now.”

I nearly tripped again trying to get out of the room and I left a painful crashing of blocks in my wake.

Andrea was waiting in the hallway as I staggered out into the light, “Sorry,” she said. “Gideon dumped his toy box next to the bed. I’ll make him pick it up in the morning.”

But before I could even get his door closed he started crying and I had to turn back around and go try to calm him down.

I stepped back into the room and crunched my way over the minefield of blocks and wooden train tracks.

“Lay down Gideon,” I told him. He was sitting up and I pat him on the shoulder. “It’s bed time.”

“No no no!” he yelled and pointed at the floor. “Gidbot not do that. No dump toys. No.”

I sighed, “It’s okay. Just lay down. Who dumped the toys, Gideon?”

He rolled over onto his belly and closed his eyes and whimpered, “Nobody dump toys. Nobody did it.”

“Nobody dumped the toys all over the floor?”

“…yeah!” he said into his pillow.

“Yeah. Okay. Whatever Ulysses. We’ll just have to get Nobody to pick the toys up in the morning. Not Gidbot.”

“…Yeah… Nobody did it.” he said quietly one last time as I danced across the room again in the dark. It’s a good thing I live in a house full of nobodies.