It's Not Often Things Surprise Me ...

... but two things happened this week that have helped restore my faith in people. And frankly? They couldn't have come at a better time, for I was really ready to throw in the towel after these latest episodes.

Let me just recap some of the stuff that I neglected to mention...


* The dog had a bit of a tummy issue and took a cr*p IN the house. And not a cute little turd that I could easily scoop up and toss out. No, she had massive diarrhea on the one and only area rug that we have in the house.

* My neighbor invited me to stop by and met a few of her mom friends from the school, which I did and thought that I was chatty and friendly with everyone . However, when I asked one of the ladies if she wanted to get together sometime, she said, "she didn't think so."

* On Monday, I emailed a mom of one of the girls in Sheridan's class and asked her if her daughter wanted to come over for a play date on Wednesday. She waited until late Tuesday evening to tell me that she didn't think it was a good idea, and that maybe we could reconsider next month.

* I was putting together a cheap desk from Ikea, when I wasn't paying any attention to the screw I grabbed and managed to put a nice big hole in the front of the drawer. Of course, it isn't just a small, round hole from the screw. No, this is crumbly particle board, and the hole is the size of a quarter.

* Libby escaped from our yard, and I didn't notice it immediately. OK, I didn't notice it for at least five minutes. Maybe ten. So I had to rush outside to locate her. Which I did. While barefoot. In my PJ's. Without a bra. Two blocks away in the park. Across the street. Where she pooped. And I didn't have a bag.


While any one of these things would have made me see stars, to have them, and the other previously mentioned issues, all happen within the last week was almost too much to handle.


Until these little gems sparkled in the sky .... On Wednesday, Riley had a great play date at her buddy's house. AND Sheridan's shoes were returned to her today.


It's far too convoluted to go into the details of how each of these positive outcomes came to be. So I won't. But I'll show you an excerpt of the email conversation that her buddy's mom and I had after I diplomatically told her what happened.

"I was awake in the middle of the night thinking of the conversation. I do recall (not during our phone conversation because I was so embarrassed) that (her buddy) had told me she was running around following Riley and trying to "keep track of her" or whatever her choice of words were - she took her job very seriously :) (lol)... I remember that I told (her buddy) she did not have to follow Riley around and that if she found other friends to play with that was great but that she didn't have to chase her around and if Riley wanted to play with other girls other than her (and Trish) that was ok too. We just didn't want her to be alone. So, I am partly to blame for the words that (her buddy) chose to use. I am so sorry that Riley had her feelings hurt. That bums me out. Anyhow, it is in the past. Please know that you are welcome to come to me anytime."

When the mom explained the story, I couldn't help but agree that it was entirely a misunderstanding, and what her buddy said to her was NOT what she meant. While I was extremely uncomfortable talking with the mom about this (which I hadn't planned on bringing up, but she called to follow up and find out how Riley was doing), I'm so glad I did. Twenty minutes on the phone and several apologetic emails between us and we're all on the same page. With a birthday party invitation too!

As for Sheridan's shoes, the scenario played out exactly as I had questioned. A father, not knowing what his own daughter's shoes looked like, helped grab his kindergartner's shoes, put them on, and walked out of the skating rink. When the principal (who I told once we noticed the shoes went missing) walked around the school late Thursday holding a pair of the same size shoes that were left behind at the skating rink, someone noticed them. And she tracked down the little girl, confirmed what happened, and called the girls father. Who embarrassingly brought them to school today.

Which was GREAT. Except I had already ordered Sheridan a new pair of shoes.

Just when I thought I was catching a break...