you have to laugh or you'll cry

Sunday, I looked outside and noticed a scratch on the car. As I got closer I realized it looked curiously like the kind of scribble my three year old would make. I went over and asked him about it. He said, "I wrote my name, because it's my car!" I explained to him that this was not a good thing to do. Luckily we have a lease that pretty much covers everything so I can just get a touch up. I actually laughed because now I'm driving around with my three year old's signature on the door, it's pretty cute. I took a picture and was going to post it here, but that brings me to my next story.

Later that day, Miles came running into the living room where I was reading a book and exclaimed excitedly, "Mama! I put your camera in the fish tank!"

"you didn't!" was my reply. And I ran to the office to see for myself. Sure enough, there was my brand new camera, a birthday present from my husband, sitting at the bottom of the tank. This happened once before with my old camera, but that one was water proof, so we all had a good laugh and moved on...but this one, not so much.

I reacted. "No! Oh no!". Miles frowned, it wasn't the reaction he had hoped for. My exclamations brought my husband into the room and he yelled, "Miles!"
That's when he broke down. His little lip started quivering and he collapsed into sobs. Right away I switched gears. I held him and comforted him, and I told him that I loved him more than my camera, and more than anything in the world. It took a good twenty minutes before he was his normal smiley self again.

If you're a parent, you know that pretty much anything you own is at risk. We learned quickly how foolish it was to get a white rug. Kids make a mess, they break things, it doesn't matter how careful you are, if you have a baby or are about to have one, just take all of your valuables away right now and lock them in storage for the next 18 years. Really, it's inevitable, if it hasn't happened yet, it will. There's even a whole site devoted to it: http://www.shitmykidsruined.com/

It goes along with one of my parenting mottos: "you have to laugh or you'll cry!"

I do choose to laugh, because in the end, it's not the stuff that really matters, it's that sweet little boy you hold in your arms. All the cameras in the world couldn't replace that. Kids are mischief makers, but they never fail to remind you of what is really important in life. One of the many lessons my kids have taught me is to not be so attached to "stuff". Next time though, I'll keep the camera out of reach.