How much is a nap worth to YOU?

Since Sunday is a day of rest, I sometimes feel that I can justify indulging in a little nap of my own while Wiggles naps and the older kids enjoy quiet Sunday activities (drawing pictures to send to family or missionaries, reading scripture stories, or, if I'm incredibly desperate for a nap, even watching a scripture video). Today, however, I made the unfortunate mistake of falling asleep while reading stories to all 3 children.....a mistake for which I would pay dearly.

After about 20 minutes (I'm not sure exactly how long I was asleep since I dozed off unintentionally, but I know it was less than half an hour), I was awakened by Grins saying "Mommy, (Wiggles) just flushed your earrings down the toilet!" I'm not always quick to arise, but this certainly got my attention. Upon jumping out of bed, I smelled a most disgusting stench. I made my way over a pile of books on my bedroom floor (courtesy of Wiggles while I had been sleeping) to the bathroom. And then gasped. We keep our bathroom door closed to keep Wiggles out of the plethora of things which seem to interest her in there (eating toothpaste, dumping out soap, playing in the toilet, unrolling toilet paper....etc) but somehow one of the older children forgot to shut it after using the restroom. And Wiggles had taken full advantage of the opportunity, particularly noting the fact that, while I was sleeping, she could get away with it. My makeup artfully decorated the sink, counter and mirror. Most of a roll of toilet paper was unwound. And my bottle of multivitamins was opened, with a half-eaten vitamin sitting next to it (can't imagine how that tasted, but it must have been bad, considering that she eats soap!) Wow. So much for not cleaning on Sunday.

Not finding Wiggles, I moved into the bedroom, only to find an entire box of mixed nuts and seeds strewn around the carpet. Fantastic. But no Wiggles (though I continued to smell her...)

I followed the odor out to the front room, where I was met with baby dolls, stuffed animals, and blankets galore, this time courtesy of Angel. Every couch/chair/pillow/rug was covered with a stuffed animal or doll and I believe she must have used every blanket we own in keeping said toys alone. I hadn't realized we had that many blankets.

Not finding Wiggles, I passed through the dining area, noting that I had failed to adequately clean up lunch, so, of course, there were cream cheese smears on the table and chairs - and probably walls, windows, couches, curtains, etc, were I to spend more time looking.

I finally found Wiggles in the great room, where she had emptied most of her favorite bookshelf. I confirmed the fact that she had created a special something in her diaper for me, but the question of the flushed earrings was first on my mind.

"Where are Mommy's earrings?" I asked.

Wiggles was still chewing on a bagel, so Angel piped up first. "(Wiggles) put them in the toilet."

Me (relieved) - "Oh, so she didn't flush them?"

A - "No, but I did."

M - "You did? Why?"

A - "I didn't realize they were in the toilet. I flushed because I had just gone to the bathroom."

M - "Oh, I see. Well, where did she get the earrings?"

A - "Out of this box" (holding up my EMPTY jewelry box, which had previously contained all of my earrings [except the ones I was wearing], including the pearls I wore on my wedding day)

M - "Oh. Where are the other earrings?"

A - "They were all flushed"

M - "Really? (laughing) Wow. How did she get this box?"

A - "I took it down off of your dresser earlier today when I was dressing up."

M - "I see. Well, that is disappointing. (Then, more to myself) I wonder if that short nap was really worth all those earrings...My wedding pearls were in that box. But, they're just earrings."

A - "Well, Mom. We, your kids, are worth more than earrings."

M - (laughing and hugging Angel) "Of course you are, babe!"

I proceeded to change Wiggles, clean up the makeup, toilet paper and sunflower seed messes, and proceeded with our day, thinking that my short nap was certainly NOT worth the loss of all of my earrings. As I reflected on my response to the situation, however, I began to change my mind. Had I been tired or stressed, I might have shouted or cried or flown off the handle at my children for the innocent little play of events that had resulted in my loss. But fortunately, I was adequately rested enough to be able to take it in stride, and remember that "things are just things" and that my children are worth far more than a few pairs of earrings - or anything money can buy, for that matter. Even wedding pearls. And so, I've concluded that, sometimes, a nap is priceless.

I will, however, be a bit more vigilant against falling asleep unintentionally in the near future, I can assure you! :)

(Note: 1) I apologize for my several weeks of 'silence': I haven't posted recently due to the tragic death or our computer. 2) I apologize for the generic photos. Our photos of the kids were all on our previous computer - and I didn't feel like taking pictures during the progression of this story; I was too anxious to 'get to the bottom of' what had happened....) Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go wipe the cream cheese off the walls...