We had a series of unfortunate events unfold the other night, resulting in one very distraught boy.
It all began when Ben and Jude were in the back yard, as Ben was grilling out, and Layla was standing at the back door watching. Jude was jumping off his slide and Layla started cracking up, the kind of belly laugh that affirms your belief in God, because only He could create something so sublime. Jude and Ben could hear her laughing through the door, even though it was closed and so they the began The Performance. Jude continued with the sure-fire jumping trick, which produced more and more laughter. Ben, wanting to contribute to the fun, started his own silly jumping, which inadvertently cause his flip flops to be tossed behind him. Jackpot. Because now, not only was Layla still cracking up, but Jude found this hilarious and joined in with his own divine laughter. This was all the encouragement that my dear husband needed to continue this crazy kick-behind-him-jumping over and over... and over. Did you know that young children don't tire of bits as easily as adults do? They are an endless abyss of laughter and delight just waiting to be tapped.
And so, in the midst of the joyous delirium, Ben over-zealously kicked his flip flop behind him and over the fence into our neighbor's yard. I found this to be quite amusing. Ben had a timid look on his face as he went to climb over the fence to ascertain if he could retrieve his shoe. Just then, two giant snarling german shepherds jumped up to greet him. Because, you see, those are our neighbor, Miss Terry's dogs and even though we have been neighbors for nearly five years, they don't trust, or apparently even like, Ben. That was the last time Ben saw his shoe.
The unsettling realization that Daddy may have lost his shoe forever hit Jude like a ton of bricks. The tears began. The mourning had commenced. And so, once again, Ben tried to find his shoe. This time he had Jude on his shoulders and climbed up on Jude's playground to get a better look. The dogs had not changed their minds about this guy and tried to bite his face mid-air. In the ensuing chaos, Jude's poor little foot was attacked by the fence and he was the recipient of no less than five splinters (don't get me started on the "Removing the Splinters Debacle"). Talk about kicking him when's he's down.
Ben decided to try another tactic. He and Jude went to knock on Miss Terry's door, to ask if she could retrieve his shoe. She was not home; Jude became even more distressed. And so, for the next few hours, Ben and I tried to coax Jude down from his state of sorrow. We are fairly certain the shoe is currently being digested by The Snarlers. Jude finally accepted the fact that it's gone, and seems to be comforted by the fact that Daddy will get new shoes.
It's amazing how life can go from pure delight to panicked hysteria at the drop of a hat... or should I say, shoe.
