Busted

It was a snowy day with the very best kind of snow. Lavish flakes softly wandering aimlessly to the ground. It was a day fit for a canvas. I love days like this. I love the quiet and the peace. I love the white blanket strewn across my backyard. I love the lack of cars and the lack of errands. I love snuggling up with a fire and a blanket and a good book. And maybe even a hot chocolate. This was the kind of day for doing nothing, for being lazy but cozy, for napping and good movies.

Yeah right.

Our Christmas tree is our last vestige of the holiday season. The outside lights came down yesterday and the cards were Ziploc-ed and tossed in the “Memories” bin. I’m not much of a sentimental but Christmas cards prove an exception, along with anything with a handprint and funny onesies.

The tree has survived our little man hooligans thanks to our repurposed Circle of Neglect:

Yes, the CON not only keeps them in, it allows us to do dangerous tasks, while still allowing them to feel included in a secluded kind of way:

Notice SuperDad on the roof

And the CON also keeps them out. It protects them from themselves, while also protecting our beloved ornaments and the Christmas spirit.

But today, while doing some glamorous task outside of eyesight and earshot radius (probably when I was trying on different colors of eyeliners), my little lovable delinquents found a crack in my system. And, in turn, I found some cracked ornaments on the ground under the once guarded tree.

I’m not exactly sure how these ornaments made it to the bottom half of the tree but I blame a certain four year old and my I-phone. Distracted tree trimming.

Someone (or ones) got in and pulled down some cargo without kid gloves.

I actually would have pinned the crime on the aforementioned four year old or even the pug had it not been for the evidence the little con artists left behind:

The proof was in the pine needles.

And the glitter on their dino pjs.

And I also saw them doing their Frankenstein walks down the hall with ornaments in their hands.

Yes, the rugrats Shaw-shanked their way in and out of the prison and sauntered off to Mexico (or to their bedroom) without hesitation or contrition.

Luckily I didn’t lose anything of value. And this jailbreak(in) prompted me to finally gear up, clean up and let go of Christmas…if only in decoration.

–K