Holes...

Lincoln's new shoe is missing. I have looked everywhere and I can't find it. It's not in the car, where he frequently discards objects. It isn't in the backyard, where he's been known to leave things. It isn't in the toy closet...but a lot of other things that don't belong there were found while I was looking for the shoe. I have spent a lot of time looking. I don't want to go buy another pair of shoes. I JUST bought these shoes.

That sums up how I spent a portion of my afternoon yesterday. I hate having one lost shoe or one lost sock. Inevitably as soon as you give up on the lost object and throw away the mismatched pair, you find it. So what do I do? Do I hold on to one little green croc in the hope that I find its match? Or do I throw it away? Every time I see that little croc, I'm going to be irritated. Is it really worth the frustration?

Yesterday evening may have helped clear up this dilemma. Hadley has a new glitter ball. It's her prized possession. Do you even know what glitter balls are? I didn't until a few weeks ago. They're ALL THE RAGE at Westfield Elementary these days. I went to 3 Wal-Marts, 1 Walgreen's and 2 Bed Bath & Beyonds before I finally located this glitter ball.

She placed the ball on the piano bench next to her as she was practicing and along crawled Lincoln. Yes, crawled. He still won't walk. 18 months and counting... but that's a complaint for another day. Continuing. He crawled over and picked up the glitter ball and went to the vent next to the piano. He removed the vent and threw the ball down the tubes. The air duct. Sorry. Correct terminology. Goodbye glitter ball.

Aha. Do you think? Could his lost shoe really be...? Hadley wept, wailed, gnashed her teeth. Lincoln grinned. He was really quite proud of himself. He even replaced the metal vent correctly. Who needs those baby toys to help your children line up shapes? Just let them play with the vent. He's good at rectangles, apparently. I am flashing back to the phone call I made about 2 years ago to the vacuum cleaner repair man. Those central vacuum holes were too irresistible to two year old Maddox. (Look, I used to, too, two in one sentence. Does that win me a prize?) Anything that would fit went in. I should have seen this coming. I've had a boy before. I know what boys do. And Lincoln really loves sticking things into holes. I called my friend Tony, the HVAC guy. Anyone lucky enough to have never needed to know, HVAC guys are heating, ventillation and air conditioning guys. "Hi, Tony. Sorry to bother you. Quick question. Where is the magic hole that you can open up in your furnace room and retrieve all lost items." (I had to speak rather loudly to drown out Hadley's wailing.) I held my breath in anticipation. Surely there must be a little door in the furnace. There has to be. "Mama Peay," Tony laughs, "there is no door in your furnace. Anything that goes into those ducts can only be removed by cutting into the duct system." Great. So I guess I can throw that lost soul green croc away, I think. "Thanks, Tony."

Has anyone seen Lincoln's bottle? The one I just filled with 8 ounces of milk?

Great.

For sale: One very lovely home in Highland, Utah. Glitter ball, size 4 green croc and bottle full of curdled milk are included in the price.