Lovey Gets Lost

Oh The Humanity
I'm willing to bet that anyone who reads this blog knows who Lovey is. Not only do you know who Lovey is but you have most likely met him if you have ever seen Link! For anyone who doesn't know who Lovey is let me do a little explaining. Simply put, Lovey is the be all end all of security blanket/stuffed animals in Link's little world. If you recall, Lovey took a spin in the washing machine one day and Link almost lost his shit. You can read about that one here.

So it goes without saying that when we went to run some errands and go to the park today only to return home and realize Lovey didn't accompany us on the ride home, we both had a mini melt down. All was well in the world of us today as we spent plenty of time playing at the indoor playground and then at the park this afternoon. When we got home I was unloading the car of a few essential living supplies (you know, like gaming chairs so I don't have to kill my old lady back sitting on the floor when Link insists I play Mario Kart) and I didn't immediately pull Lovey out with Link like I normally do. I didn't panic right away because Lovey has a habit of hiding and giving me heart attacks from time to time. I figured it got thrown in a bag or a jacket or shoved under the seat. I was wrong. I looked in every part of that van. Yes, I am aware that Lovey was most likely NOT chillin' with the spare under the trunk mats. But he's a sneaky little bugger so I didn't count it out.

After a quick call and freak out to D I ended up loading Link back in the van and we went on our Lovey retrieval adventure. Yay. Here's where my sanity just went on a downward spiral of not existing anymore. Have you ever had a conversation with a 2 almost 3 year old? I have them all day long. They make things up. They blatantly lie. They are... creative. And in their world, what they are telling you is real. Most of the time these things don't bug me and I don't think about it. However, in my panicked haze I decided to do some detective work since my memory of events is crap. This is where I began questioning my son.
"Link did you take Lovey to the park?"
"Mmmmm, nope."
"You didn't? Are you sure?"
"I do sure."
"Did you have him in Target?"
"I did."
"Did you leave him at Target?"
"I did."
"Are you sure?"
"I do sure."
"Do you remember where you left him?"
"I do."
"Where did you leave him?"
"I left him up on the... I left him up on theeeeeeeeeeee first path, Mommy."
"The first path?"
"Yes."
"In the Target?"
"I did, Mommy."
"So Lovey is at Target?"
"Yes."

This was a mistake. Don't ever ask your kids things. But he seemed so adamant about it. So I decided to make Target my first stop. We hit the customer service desk for lost and found first. No dice. I then proceeded to let Link guide me through the store. Seemed like a good idea. It would have been a great one since he's the last person that had Lovey. However, I forgot one very important thing. I just brought a 2 year old to Target. I know grown men and women who can't focus in Target. Hell, every time I go there I wander around wanting to put everything into a basket and take it home. So Link's sweet little blue eyes are darting all over the place. Lovey is the last thing on his mind because there are bright colors everywhere and a car here and a bottle there and a candy bag over there. In desperation I am telling my baby "We have to find Lovey or we will never see him again." I. Am. A. Bad. Mom! He stops in the middle of the store, tears up and says to me "I don't want to not see Lovey again!" and looks like he is about to stream tears, waterfall style, all over the store. So I redirect. "OK Sweetie, you have to show Mommy where you put Lovey. Let's go." So he perks up and says "OK! Let's go find him" and bounces merrily off in the direction of the toy aisle. He was not looking for Lovey.

I begin to panic. I am seriously about to break down in tears in the middle of Target in front of everyone. I start imagining the next month and a half without this dang dirty tattered piece of cloth with a monkey head on it. OH THE HUMANITY!!!

I know there is one more possibility: the park. I resign myself to the fact that we are not going to find Lovey but there is still a tiny bit of hope left. So I grab my tiny boy and we head out to the van. We drive the short drive to the park and near the parking lot. I squint but it's windy out and there is, indeed, something near where we were parked. It vaguely looks like some sort of crumbled brown box. As I pull closer the clouds part, the sun shines through and angels sing a glorious song of joy. LOVEY. I have never been more excited to see a monkey with a blanket for a body in my life. We freaking saved him!

So yes, I am a hero. I would ask for a medal but the look on my baby's face when I gave him Lovey after his bath was way better than a medal. I might take some chocolate though...

A Time I Had