Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Collateral Damage

I was ironing a shirt this evening and while I normally wait until my husband is home so he can entertain the 1 year old, I decided to get a head start on the task and do it on my own. This meant I had to find something to hold the babys interest long enough for me to get this done. The things that hold his interest the longest of course are the things he is not allowed to have. I tend to make exceptions in these cases. So while I ironed hastily, my child played merrily with my husbands $100 universal remote.
Unwise? Maybe.
Risky? Undoubtedly.
Worth it? Absolutely.
Ive come to realize that many possessions that were once treated like gold pre-kids, have become sacrificial items used to quell the children and bring about a moments peace.
Vehicles once washed weekly and vacuumed religiously now only see water when it rains. And you don't even think twice about throwing a french fry over your shoulder while navigating traffic with hopes that it will land within the reach of little hands so you dont have to hear that brain seizing shriek for another second. Should you miss your target, that fry will find its way down between the seats and take asylum underneath and probably coexist nicely with a week old sippy cup until one day that cup turns ugly and takes the fry hostage and rolls out from under the seat when you brake too hard and hisses at you.
DVDs and CD's that once were handled delicately are now frisbees, teethers and coasters. I made a cake last week and needed my scraper to get the batter out. Instead of rummaging through my utensil drawer, I went into the living room, found the wooden toy box shaped like a bus and dug through there and produced my scraper.
What. Where do you keep your scraper?
How about the cordless phone that I forgot to keep on the charger? Yeah, its behind the diaper pail in the nursery. That got my dishwasher unloaded. Husbands favorite travel mug? Lets see...where did I see that? Try the toy box in the boys room. But not the lid, I think I saw that next to the sofa. Sorry hon.
But you see that hot meal on the stove? You can thank your coffee mug for taking one for the team.

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