Spoons and the Universe

Sometimes when I am starting to lose my sanity and all faith in the world, the Universe does something to shake me out of it. Or, at least make me laugh.

So, lately, Jake and I have been noticing that our spoon supply has been slowly dwindling. Where the heck are all of our spoons? At first we thought that maybe they were just being hidden behind couches, or just dirty all at once. Remember, we were the family that uses too many spoons.

But, then, we started to observe Abe's behavior closely -- specifically, his yogurt eating behavior -- and therein lie the answer. Lately, Abe has been helping himself to food in the refrigerator whenever he is hungry, which seems like ALL THE TIME. I swear, that kid eats like a maniac. We are generally okay with it, as long as he eats his meals and he eats something healthy. His favorite go-to snack is yogurt. He reaches in, grabs a cup, grabs a spoon and eats. Then, ever so dutifully he throws his yogurt cup away in the trash, and puts the spoon in the sink. Uh, well, that is what we thought. Apparently he had been throwing his spoon away too. Because, you know, it is so much easier to throw it all away and not have to worry about washing those pesky spoons. I am sure in his head, our spoons just regenerate themselves. I mean, what 4 year old bothers to think about where the dishes come from. Poof! They are there!

So, after confronting him about the spoon throwing away, and telling him that from now on all silverware is to be put into the sink NOT into the trash can (Parenting note: Beware of the things that you take for granted that your kids should automatically know) we figured we would have to get some more spoons. But, Jake remembered we had been gifted a "bonus" set of silverware that matches our existing set for our wedding. This nugget of knowledge had been filed away under the "never will I ever have to use that!" but surprisingly extra utensils, plates, glasses have come quite in handy when you have two children in the house.

So, he pulled out the set and started emptying them into the sink to wash. Then he said, "Wow, this set has A LOT of spoons." I took a look at the package and it had four of everything - forks, butter knives, teaspoons, etc. As I was looking at the package I saw a little asterisk with a note that said, "Including four bonus teaspoons."

I don't know about you, but I feel like God (or whatever you believe in - heck, there could be a special silverware Deity) included that little asterisk especially for us. Almost like a wink to say, "Hey dudes. I know your kid threw away all of your spoons, and you seem like you need a break, so here are some bonus spoons."

Thank you Universe for that little help. It is moments like those that keep me from shaving my head and speaking in incoherent sentences. I guess if you pay attention, you will start to notice your bonus spoons.