Stain stick and batteries

I had some errands to run last night, and before I left for Target I jotted down some necessities....and left my list on the counter.

Oh, well. I could remember everything. I needed gifts for Kaela & Ben's preschool teachers, replacement swingset swings, and... shoot. The rest of the list eluded me.

This afternoon, I put the replacement swings on the swingset. Like moths to a flame, the children in the neighborhood descended on them. (Do you think they have radar??) Never mind that it was muddy. It's a Crocs world, and tonight's bath night.

After a few minutes of getting good and muddy, I sent them all home to get cleaned up. Kaela and Ben had the shiny new swings all to themselves, and didn't even have to take turns. They've swung for the past 2 hours, intermittently staking claim on the best spots and telling me I'm the best mom in the world. I figured it's not all bad to let your children swing when it's muddy out..they were having such a good time, after all.

Then I called them inside so I could fix dinner. Ben, who's still learning to swing on a big swing, tried to accelerate instead of slowing down. Gravity stepped in, and out of the swing he went...on his back and head, right into the sloppiest mud puddle. I think he knew better than to cry. Or maybe he was enjoying his plight--I don't know.

You never saw such a mess. Matted hair, fingernails that will never recover...I'm not sure I could have picked him out of a lineup of other grubby kids. I stripped him in the yard, muttering, "Don't touch me, let me touch you. You're covered in mud. Don't touch me, let me touch you." and "See? This is why we obey Mommy."

I carried him then, naked and mudcaked, straight into the house and into the bathtub. As I examined the damage, suddenly the grocery list zoomed into my view, as though lit by a spotlight, sitting on the counter. The sundries I had forgotten at Target last night? Stain stick, and batteries for my camera. Dontcha just love irony? :)