adventures of the miebs family: some things can't be explained.

so. after nearly 7 months in hiding, my rings have resurfaced. i discovered them last night and by my reaction, you would have thought i hit the winning lottery. ipod blaring some hall and oates (don't judge), my soapy hands scrubbing dinner's pots and pans, i reach up to close the kitchen window (as seen in the picture below) when i notice jb's pushing present dangling from my wind chime. let me just back up and say a few things first.

i wash dishes like it's my job. well, actually, it is one of my many jobs. i usually start my morning by unloading the dishwasher (since i run it every night) and i fill it back up through the course of the day. i'm not one to put dirty dishes in the sink. nope. i like a clean stainless steel, ajaxed sink.
i fill up my nalgene and the kid's sippy cups throughout the day with water from the sink. the kids get juice for breakfast, milk for dinner and water in between. we like our well water.
i wash dishes like it's my job. well, actually, it is one of my... you get the point...

so, really, it's not as if they were in a place that i wasn't regularly. and, i really can't imagine they've been there since march. i can't. but. i guess some things can't be explained. my mothers (diana and lynn) both uttered that it could have been my grandmother. do you believe stuff like that? writing it and reading it, make me feel a little silly. but. a few months after she passed, i was at work when i heard her, clear as crystal, utter my name as if she were standing behind me. i whipped around in my chair faster than you can say flanagan. then proceeded to look over my cubicle, as if she'd be standing there, handbag in the crook of her arm. 11 years later, and i swear it happened. my dad experienced something similar the day after his father had passed, but i think his was a hand on his shoulder as he was talking on the phone. people believe in much crazier experiences, fads and expressions, so i guess i can just believe that she heard my sorrow and answered. thank you, grandma pat!

but back to my moment of discovery: the instant i spotted jb's ring, i got up on my tippy-toes to see if my grandma's ring was behind it. that's when i noticed it was at the front of the wheelbarrow, looped over the little birdy perched on the end. both rings. in my sight and not in my daydreams. enter: grinch-like smile and tears welling in my eyes (kinda like as i type this out). i sprinted the 20 feet to our back deck where the husband was mowing the lawn, and i found myself jumping and flailing my arms like i needed to be rescued from this 10x15 island of trex deck. sos, benji! already laughing at me, he brought the mower to a halt with a yeaaaah??? and i could barely get out the words that I FOUND MY RINGS while doing a jig and making jb double over in laughter. i may or may not have done a heel kick.

i really don't even know what to say. we scoured the house. moving furniture big and small. checking coat pockets and all five pockets on denim (and have you seen how many jeans i own???), triple-checking the truck seats, jack's closet, even looking in the vents in the floor, really, we looked low and lower but obviously not high. i just can't believe it.

ben and i both blamed each other - are you SURE you didn't put them there?! and really, would i dare to place my rings in such a compromising position - dangling over a garbage disposal?! everyone insisted it was innocent (ha!) jb, but i know my boy pretty well. when i showed him the rings he exclaimed ohhh, you found the sprinkley wings! fast forward to years and years from now, and one day his wife will proudly (i hope) wear the ring that i was given when he entered this world. and same goes for dylan... my grandmother (grandfather) passed the anniversary ring down to me, and one day she'll wear it muttering that her great grandma pat wore this band of sparkle. that is, if her chubby starfish fingers allow.

wind chimes, just above my eye level