The Land of the Lost
The going thought is that we spend about a third of our lives sleeping but, ever since Tyler has been about two-and-a half, I am wondering how much of my life is spent looking for things that he has lost. I know kids lose things, but this kid loses things in the span of walking a few feet. Or, things that are on the couch seem to magically disappear. And inevitably there is that panicked cry of:
"Mommy, I can't find Electro's little head!"
"I can't find Spider-Man's flippers!"
"I can't find Buzz Lightyear!"
"But you just had Eeyore, your red Candyland gingerbread man, and YOUR ITEM OF CHOICE GOES HERE, " I exclaim!
Most of these toys and little pieces are almost always found but not after a lot of searching under couches, between couches, or under the refrigerator by my husband and I. And a lot of crying on Tyler's side. And exhaustion on mine.
Tyler is three-and-a-half now, and I do try to keep him organized. All of his Spider-Man stuff goes in his Spiderman bucket, his crayons go in one box, his cars in another...it still doesn't work. If he takes something out, that's what gets lost. And the toys never seem to make it back into their proper place.
One of my once friends told me, "Oh, I never bought Olivia toys that came with pieces at that age...looking for stuff like that just drives me crazy." But...no puzzles? No Legos? No games? I just can't do that!
And it's not as though I can't empathize with my son. I have memories of taking a favorite doll out for a day, only to lose her and never recover her. I still remember the dolls...I guess I am scarred for life.
What's worse, the losing frenzy has also spread to my husband and I. I swear this did not happen until after Tyler was born, but we are always misplacing remotes controls, a slipper and sometimes even important documents. Again, almost always recovered, even if it is three weeks later and I have already bought another pair of slippers.
Is their hope for this family of three? I am thinking that as Tyler gets older he will become better at keeping his things organized, but Grant and I will drift into senility and become worse. And then, kid, it's payback time.
This is an original post to New Jersey Moms Blog. When not looking for lost items, Emily writes about being a mom with a chronic illness at Mama Sick.
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