Staking a Claim

From the beginning of time, most, if not all, of man's battles have been about real estate. One tribe battling another over land. Think of the pioneers staking a claim out in the wild west, parking their covered wagons over a plot of arable land while fighting off squatters. The more land one amassed, the more powerful. The War of 1812 was really about two nations battling for more land (Canada), both world wars that saw the axis and allies struggling to gain control over various nations, the Korean war where China tried to dominate over Japan. Okay, maybe I'm over-simplifying the intricacies of these epic battles (after all, one could earn a doctoral degree in the study of one measly war and I'm summing it up in five words), but bottom line, it was about one party taking control over another by gaining control over the acreage. Like I said, real estate.

I see that battle played out over and over again in my own zoo. Often the struggle is over the prime piece of sofa, the cushion that faces the television screen most directly. It's the section of the sofa that has a definite "sag", no matter how often I rotate the cushions. Hard to believe that my monkeys, who weigh between 24-48 pounds could cause that much wear and tear. Oh wait, I've often seen Daddy in that spot too.

The other night, I was the object of the battle. Having found a few minutes to relax in front of the television (a rare event indeed), I sat down. Only to have Quinn quickly climb on top and burrow his body into my side. Devlin and Aisling both raced over. Devlin jumped over Aisling and snuggled up against the other side of me. Aisling saw that my shoulder was still free and unclaimed, and managed to manoeuvre her body behind Quinn but angled next to me and lay her head against my shoulder. Ceilidh was out of luck. Quinn, however, was not even willing to share that tiny piece of Mommy.
"My mommy," he announced, and then raised his tiny but mighty fist and landed a blow on his sister.