Finding Out

November 30, 2009 by Rieshy
About 6 years ago I was working in my kitchen when I saw Bekah, then 4 years old, streak by shrieking, leaving a faint smell of smoke trailing behind her. It was simultaneously cartoonish and frightening. Long story short- for reasons Bekah could not explain, she had stuck something in an outlet in the entrance to our bonus room. It had sparked and shocked her, melted the outlet plate and some carpet, etc. My husband fixed the damage to the wall/carpet while I kissed/chided Bekah and the incident was forgotten... until today.

Today, I was waiting in the pediatrician's office with Jack and Bekah (now aged 10). Bekah was serenely knitting while I chatted with Jack in a vain attempt to keep Jack from bouncing off the walls. Jack wandered to an enormous outlet and started to touch it while asking what the outlet was for. Bekah practically came unglued screeching, "Don't touch it- it could shock you!"

I told Jack that Bekah knew whereof she spoke, and then turning to Bekah I noticed she had a knowing smile on her face. "So Bekah", said I, "Obviously you remember doing something to the bonus room outlet. Care to share?" That's when I found out that Bekah clearly remembered the whole incident. She had been pretending she was Princess Leia from Star Wars and pretending that the outlet was R2D2 and... and (insert her laughter) she had had a paperclip in her hand that was the secret message for Obi-Wan-Kenobi.

I have to admit that under those conditions it would make total sense to stick a paperclip in an outlet.

When she told me today I laughed so hard tears came to my eyes- which certainly wouldn't have happened had Bekah explained it 6 years ago. So treasure those weird unexplained events, let them age like a fine wine. Someday, someday years from now when you are bored or stressed call one of your children and ask them to reveal what they know about a household-mystery from the past. Finding out might just make you laugh.




This is a 30 min challenge post organized by Steady Mom.



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7 comments:

Kim & Dave said...

"So treasure those weird unexplained events, let them age like a fine wine." This made me LOL!!! Thanks for sharing!

Melanie said...

This hilarious! I completely understand her reasoning. I stuck my finger in the pencil sharpener at school to see how is worked. On the first crank, I realized the flaw in my plan. Luckily it only tore my nail. I sucked my finger all day, but never told the teacher. LOL

Rana said...

I can't wait to hear some of the stories about our home from my kids 15 years from now. Cute story. I needed a good laugh today.

Anonymous said...

Great stuff! It is wonderful to laugh at those things from the past after the drama is over. We do the same around here. Sometimes though, the person involved isn't quite ready to see it in that light. We try to set the example. Thanks for sharing.
~Victoria

se7en said...

Oh that is funny!!! Oh to see the humor at the time though!!! When I was about five I plugged a live wire into a socket... the lights went off for the whole block, the skin on my arm went a crispy black and I remember saying that the wire "fell" into the socket... Oh good grief!!!

Rieshy said...

Wow Se7en, I think your experience doesn't ever achieve laugh-ability, at least not by your parents. I bet you didn't go near a socket for years.

Danielle said...

Don't you just love hearing the kids recall things? Their memories are so much better than we give them credit for.

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