Lost ... and Found!

I am both offended and indignant on Barley’s behalf that so many of you accused my sweet, precious, innocent baby of eating the fishing license. And insulted. And hurt. And resentful. And … and …

And … ok … if I’m being honest {sheepish}…………. It’s one of the first places we checked as well, the backyard. The license was made of that hard plastic, like a gift card, so we were pretty sure she couldn’t have actually EATEN it already (although you never know …..) but we thought we had a pretty good chance of finding it lying somewhere on the patio.

Alas, Barley had the last laugh when the fourth – yes, the FOURTH – dig through the trash finally surfaced the lost card. It had somehow gotten wedged in the corner of a white gift box that Kellen had ripped when opening, and the white envelope the card was in had been overlooked the previous three searches through the trash. Blaine didn’t mind the four digs through the two trash bags full of wrapping paper and tape and name tags and torn boxes …. It was the unfruitful search he made through the “real” trash, full of coffee grounds and remnants from that mornings hash brown and ham casserole that he didn’t enjoy. Having done my own time as an elementary school child, digging through the disgusting bins of garbage after lunch in the cafeteria, looking for my retainer, I told Blaine and his naturally-straight teeth that it was only fair.

Needless to say, it’s not the first year a gift has been lost. We’re just glad we found this one without the hassle of having to get it re-issued. And I’m pretty sure most of us have lost or thrown away a gift or two throughout the years that we don’t even realize …. The bounty that is Christmas morning chaos, when it looks like a mini-mall has thrown up in the living rooms of America, certainly lends itself to losing a gift and never even knowing. Or at least not until months and months later, when you find it in the cushions of the sofa, like several of you confessed.

And now we enter the next phase of the holidays, known as “Just how long will the new-toy-excitement last, and then what on earth are we going to do to keep these kids entertained for another week of vacation??”