Note to Self

We ordered a new table and chair set. It was delivered Tuesday on a giant pallet. All 311 pounds of it. Loran and I could get the chair boxes in, but the table was a bit heavy for me, so we unpacked it in the driveway to bring the individual pieces in.

Ella was really motivated to help. Lily was waiting in the wings to claim the box. We gave Ella some packaging to throw away and then gave her the package of hardware to keep ahold of while we moved the table in the house.

Wednesday, I set out to put things together. I couldn't locate the hardware. I recalled Ella holding the bright red bag and texted Loran to see if he knew where it was. While I waited for a response, I looked all over. Trying to get into Ella's brain. It dawned on me that she could have thrown it away. If I were Ella, which garbage would I use? Kitchen. The problem? It was garbage day and I was up against the clock. The garbage truck would round the corner at any moment so I dashed out, dug through the big can, found the kitchen garbage bag, split it open and sifted through coffee grounds and other nastiness. No red bag. Loran didn't know either.

Luckily, the chair hardware was separate, so I started on those. However, I had a meeting with Ella's teacher mid-day for official Homeroom Mom business. I was invited to escort Ella to the book fair. As Ella skipped down the hall, I asked her to use her brain, really think, "Remember that red bag of screws we gave you when we unpacked the table? Where is it?" Without hesitation, a huge smile, a skip in her step, Ella solves the mystery...

"I threw it away!"

My co-homeroom Mom stifled laughter.

I asked her which garbage. She told me the powder room. Nooo! I saw that bag! I only checked the kitchen! D'oh! By this time, our garbage is on the truck. Long gone.

I ended up at Lowes that afternoon with the girls buying screws and washers, teaching them the difference between nails and screws, showing them how we write the SKU number and quantity on the bag, how we find the size we need. All in all, it turned out okay.

Lesson learned. Don't give your child something important and just assume they'll know what to do with it.

I'll never be able to look at that table and not see the absolute joy on Ella's face when she told me she threw the bag away, and that's okay!