I posted this on facebook on Monday, but some of you may not have seen it. Last Sunday, I went to wash Mikenna's coat and the contents of her pockets were HORRIFYING! First, I pulled a pair of bunched up mittens out of her pocket and I get sandblasted in the face (not the first time, you would think I would learn, right? Maybe someday! haha)
Second, in the midst of a collection of normal kid stuff like bouncy balls and erasers, I pull out part of a DEAD BIRD!!! ICK! The chain of events following are kind of a blur, but I plunged my hand into her pocket without any reservation and pulled out part of a bird that had been long gone. As I held it in my hand, I yelled, "Kasey! There's a DEAD bird in Mikenna's pocket!!" I felt frozen in disbelief, staring at my palm; Kasey got up from the couch, coming into the playroom to take the carcass out of my hand. He was laughing hysterically at my reaction, and taking the bird out of my hand, he said (when he calmed down and he could breathe again - which was only a second before laughing at me again), "Yep, sure enough. It's just the wings though." He threw the wings in the garbage and started emptying out the rest of her pockets...
Third - Kasey started emptying the last little tidbits out of her pocket because I was a little gun-shy to say the least (can ya blame me?!?) but he pulled out one of those sticky hands (without the hand) that was black/brown from lint, dirt, and whatnot - and at first glance I thought it was a worm because it was "moving" and I just lost it. Screamed, then followed by actual sobs because I was so so so GROSSED out! Over-reacting? Maybe, but I don't care it was so nasty and I was not expecting it. All I wanted was for Mikenna to have a clean coat! After I pulled myself together, and sort of laughed along with Kasey he thought it would be funny to taunt me a little with the sticky hand before it landed in the trash. He said my reaction to the whole ordeal probably would have won an America's Funniest Videos grand prize if only he had caught it on tape... It's a good thing he didn't! Embarrassing! Haha ;)
When Mikenna woke up the next morning, I wanted her to sweat a little after what she put me through the night before. So I said, "Mikenna, I washed your jacket last night." Expecting her to freak out a little considering what she had in her pockets, she just said, "Thanks Mom." 'Thanks Mom', are you kidding me?!? So I said, "I emptied out your pockets so I could wash it." Again, a nonchalant "oh". I finally said, "Mikenna, you had a DEAD BIRD in your pocket! Why did you touch that let alone pick it up and take it home!?!" She looked just as grossed out as I was, and told me she thought it was just a big feather. "Um, no Mikenna, it was the bird's WINGS!" I was actually very relieved to know that she didn't do it on purpose, but I took that opportunity to tell her again that we don't touch dead things, not only is it disgusting, but they can carry diseases, etc... I think I will exercise more caution when emptying pockets for laundry, or better yet, make them all do their own!! I am scarred for life! Ew, Ew, EW! haha :)
