The Missing Bead

This will hang on our Christmas tree from now on.  Yes, there is a story.

Jackson has been bringing home Christmas crafts from school this week and I pulled this out of his bag this afternoon.  In the picture there is a bead missing, which leads me to the story . . .  As soon as I found it in his bag, Jackson grabbed it and ran off.  I didn't think anything of it.  Several minutes later, I put Katherine down for her nap and walked back to the living room where Jackson was.  He was whimpering and uttering something about a bee and his nose.  He was getting upset and I finally put two and two together that he was saying 'bead' rather than 'bee.'  The more he told me the more upset he was getting.  I couldn't see anything just looking in his nose, but knew we were headed to the doctor's office or er.  While waiting for the call back from the doctor's office, I finally had the bright idea to shine a flashlight up his nose to see if I could see anything.  There it was . . . the green bead.  I made him try blowing his nose again and after several tries, there was a little green bead in the kleenex.  About an hour or two after all of this and the commotion had died down, I decided I wanted to keep that little peppermint stick and hang it on our tree from now on.  I put the beads back on and left one missing.  So, that's the story.  Along with providing trauma for the afternoon, we have a new Christmas memory that maybe we can chuckle over in coming years as we pull out this little ornament to find a place for on our trees (don't worry, it will have a spot high on the tree for many years to come).

Needless to say, we've had several quick talks and reminders that we don't stick things in our nose or ears and I think the experience has made a lasting impression.  I have no idea what came over him.  He never sticks anything in his nose or ears--that's usually Katherine's department.