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erin

erin

I'm Erin Jo. I'm thinking, writing, dreaming, mothering, loving, living, praising, BLESSED to be Fiona to my Shrek and Mommy to my four amazing kiddos.

dave

dave

Shrek is "like an onion with many layers" but has a heart of gold. He's my husband and my friend, and we just get better all the time.

lily

lily

Lily is my first baby and only girl. She's smart, funny, tall and kind. Keeping up with this girl is a challenge and a joy. She's terrific!

max

max

Max is one part ogre, two parts lover and all boy! Our little man has a temper but gives the best hugs of anyone I know!

colby

colby

Colby is as ornery as he looks. He flirts shamelessly, even with strangers. He's all mouth and curls and the loudest by far.

luke

luke

Luke is the baby of the family, but holds his own. He's happy and adorable. And he's a terrible sleeper. =)

The Last and the Baddest

rotten luke and sibs
I come in peace. I come with my palms up, in front of me, with slow measured steps and endless humility. I have no designs, no motives. I only wish to live and to live well.

And I am. All is well in my life, but I have a story to tell you that will help explain my melancholy tonight.

My day started with a slow wake-up with four kiddos, a breakfast of sausage links and scrambled eggs for the kids and scrambled eggs with fresh mushrooms, cilantro, salsa and hot creamy coffee for me. The older kids got ready for school. The younger kids were somewhat independent. After I got the older kids off to the bus stop, I grabbed the opportunity to wash my hair before getting ready for work and dashing off to my job.

And, somewhere in all of that, Lucas apparently flushed my expensive, cherished, special Ayala Bar 3-necklace set and a pair of hoop earrings down the toilet.

lost necklace sepia

Oh. The pain in my heart. (See necklace above…)

I had my outfit and my jewelry picked out last night, grabbed them on my way to the bathroom this morning before moving into the main level for breakfast and kid time. And, when I finally turned from the tub with my hair in a towel to put on my jewelry, maybe an hour later, it was gone. I asked Lucas, “Where is mommy’s necklace?” And he answered, quickly and plain as day, “In the toilet.” A quick glance that way for me, and then, “Lukie, did you flush mommy’s necklace down the toilet?” And, again, plainly, “Yes.”

My heart broke twice, I think. Once when I realized he was probably telling the truth, and then when I realized the poor kid knew how genuinely upset and angry I was.

His tune changed a bit after that. “Lukie, did you really flush mommy’s necklace down the toilet?” And from him, “Holby did it.”

Oh, Lukie. Holby didn’t do it. You did!!!

I still can’t be absolutely sure it’s down there, but I believe it is. We haven’t found it anywhere else, and Shrek dutifully poked around with a wire hook to see if maybe, just maybe, it caught on the trap. For my part, I called Mr. Rooter for his advice, and felt just sick about it. Actually, just genuinely sad all damn day.

And it’s not THAT big of a deal. I mean, yes, it was gorgeous and expensive, and I loved it. It was my gift from Shrek two Christmases ago.

But it was an object. A material thing. I still have Shrek and the marriage. And my neck and my children, and all the things that really matter.

Oh, but I am still sad. And stunned, a bit. And wow, does anyone else remember that part of The Christmas Pageant? I read that book growing up, and I honestly don’t remember much at all about it, except that the author wrote the last sibling is the worst, because he learns all the tricks and bad habits of his older siblings and adds his own.

And that Luke. My lord, that child! In the last four days alone, he has landed on his head, busted my top lip something terrible, flipped off the end of the loveseat a la ninja star… He has thrown things and broken things and jumped in his crib at night to call out, meanly, “momma, come up here, mommma, come up here now!”

And he has flashed those perfect little white teeth, looped his arms around my head and given me the best hugs, and cracked me up by dancing like a rock star while singing, “Dan, dan, dan! Dan, dan, dan!” He helps me by carrying clean laundry to the folding station, delivering drinks to his “Holby,” picking up all trash matter and taking it exactly where it should go.

Lucky for him, he’s cute. And I know he’s just the perfect little, terrible two-year-old.

But damn, I miss that necklace.

6 Responses

  1. Karen Rutter says:

    Well…….do you have home-owners insurance? 🙂

  2. Lukie is a little stinker. But he is so darned cute about it! He has these sparkly eyes and that disarming smile(which he flashes especially when he has done something bad)! It does make you sad when you lose a sentimental piece of jewelry. What ya gonna do? Just go on!

  3. Julie says:

    Well, I guess that has to be something I can not relate to. Never owned jewelry, so never had something like that happen. But, I think it is important that he told the truth, and at the same time was/is smart enough to throw the blame when he sensed fear, ( smile)! I am not sure about the younger child theory. Nick was and still is the calmest, seems to have always learned what not to do. I just know this, your family is beautiful. You and David have a lot of blessings and you recognize that. So, lesson learned, and you handled it with some sort of grace from the sounds of things. Here’s to a better, brighter tomorrow!

  4. Shauntae says:

    A similar thing happened to me when my Max broke a vase (playing with the cat) from my grandpa’s funeral. As soon as he did it, seen the look on my face and the tears in my eyes he knew how upset I was. At that moment I felt like I lost a piece of my grandpa again and was truly upset, but I kept reminding myself it was only a material thing and I still have my memories. But, sometimes it is hard to let go of the “material” things that mean so much to us. But, at the end of the day our beautiful “babies” are still healthy and we are still thankful for their orneriness. They are still our little blessings.

  5. Jessica Yost says:

    So sorry about your necklace! And you got it right about the youngest…we had a situation with jewelry not to long ago too. Caleb “swiped” his Aunt Whitney’s wedding bands when he was over there one day baking cookies. She called me when we got home and asked if I had seen it. I called Caleb up from the basement and asked him if he knew where it was. He started feeling around in his jean pocket and pulled it out. My heart jumped out of my chest. I tried my best to calmly explain, as well as you can, to a 3 yr old that we don’t take things that aren’t ours. And that it is called stealing. He simply told me he wasn’t stealing that he only swiped it. Thanks Swiper the fox!

  6. amy heiss says:

    Oh Erin…:(
    I feel your pain,I can’t tell you the countless number of things some irreplaceable and some not, that have been lost or broken over the years in my house…..but after all they are just “things” but it makes us sad none the less. It’s rough business being the momma of four…. 🙂
    Just don’t ever forget its not just you… 🙂

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