I'm not sure this is blogworthy....

but this is a slice of life in my world.


Plastic Dinosaurs now have value.


Yesterday we all went to MacDonalds.  Ada, who is very, very girl, had an unusual toy, for a girly girl, in her happy meal.  It was a weird dinosaur.  Luke, who had arrived earlier, with Ann and family, had gotten a cool, very cool water toy.  I, myself, was impressed with it.  Luke liked it,  but  I knew Luke would love that dinosaur, too.  He wasn't aware of it until he found it on the floor back at my house where Ada had tossed it.  Not interested.  Luke LOVED it.  LOVED it. So he came to me and asked me,

"Near, can I take this home with me?"

Affectionately, I kneeled down to him, and spoke very quietly,

"Luke, I don't care, but it's Ada's.  Ada doesn't like it but if she knows you want it, she'll want to name it as hers.  Just don't talk about it, Luke.  Don't say one word about it and you can have it.  There will be no problem."

He looked confused and at that point Ada showed up in the kitchen naked and dancing.  She was entertaining us and unaware of the Dinosaur in Luke's hand.  At which point Luke said, not noticing that she was naked and being funny, because he was too worried about the Dinosaur and wanting it so badly,

"Ada, can I borrow this dinosaur".

she stopped, naked and still and now serious, and said,

"That's miiiinnnnne!"  in a tone that sounded like, "if you don't give it to me I'll start crying".

I had to think quick, because Luke's countenance wasn't looking too great, either.  He's only about to be 4.

I took the dinosaur really quickly and placed it up high, saying, "Let's not think about this right now.  We're just gonna put it up here for later."  that satisfied Ada who was off and twittering about, naked until her mom dressed her.  She really wasn't interested in playing with the dinosaur.  Luke hung around and I explained to him, that I would get it into his hands when he left my house.  I underscored, "DO NOT TALK ABOUT IT".  He quietly answered, "Okay, Near".

Sure enough, when Ann and kids left, I had put it and another matching dinosaur into a brown lunch bag, for disguise.  I whispered to oblivious, tired Ann what was going on and I slipped it into her diaper bag.

This morning Charlie and I took Ada, Ellie and Luke to farmer's market with us.  Ann and Andrew went on their own.  Luke was loving the dinosaur, still, this morning.  He loves it.  He carried it to Farmer's market and Ada had forgotten about it.  Ellie tried to point it out, but I shushed her.  I think she was interested in the controversy of the whole thing.  But I quieted that.  He had a cold pancake with him and found it so great that he could stick part of the dinosaur through the pancake.  He just loved that.  He had Charlie keep the removable part in his shirt pocket while he wasn't using it.  He loved and loves everything about that ugly plastic dinosaur.  After Farmer's Market, they came over here and on leaving, with Ann,  Luke had left the D. somewhere either in my house or yard.  Ann called me about it because Luke was concerned.  I promised him through Ann on the phone, that I would find it and get it to him.

So - in checking mail - shortly after that - I began to think.  I had to think like Luke.  Where would he have been willing to put it down - what would have distracted him enough to let go of it.  I saw the red cart in the yard.  The one he and Ada had been playing in.  He had been pulling Ada in it.  I walked over and there it was, in the cart.  The Dinosaur and the removable part, which is a bat.  Not pretty.  Not pink and frilly.  Not warm and cuddly.  Luke loves it.

And here is a picture of it - after I found it.

I'm not used to caring about pale gray weird plastic Dinosaurs.