1.The child who is missing the library book gives up all hope of ever finding it and collapses in a heap weeping and mourning the loss of said book.
2. Someone (usually me) trips over a dog that is also running around frantically.
A few weeks ago we were involved in an epic library book scramble. This day it was Remie's turn for the missing book. He said he brought home the book "Rocks and Minerals" and that we never read it. We immediately began scrambling and searching for this book. Henry was in the middle of nursing so I had him in one arm, hanging from a boob, while I threw toys out of a toy box with the other arm in search of this book. It wasn't in the toy box. We continued to look in all of the normal hiding spots for books- behind dressers, under the bed and even in Charlotte's disaster of a closet. Still no sign of the book. It was at that moment that Remie was in a puddle on the floor, crying hysterically that he couldn't find his book. You see, in Remie's world not returning a library book is a close second to committing murder. Mr. Rule Follower was terrified of the consequences of losing a book. I promised him that the librarian gives you a few chances to return the book.
While the kids were at school I searched high and low for this book. I tried to remember what it looked like but I didn't recall ever seeing it at all. The book somehow vanished into thin air. Remie came home from school and he surprisingly survived the wrath of the librarian for not returning his book on time.
Life went on and we managed to forget about the lost book...until the following week when the Library book scramble started all over again. We looked everywhere in the house but could not find the dreaded Rocks and Minerals book! Once again Remie was a puddle of tears and had to endure another day at the library without returning his book.
That night at dinner we began questioning all of the kids about this book. They all said that they saw it at one time but no one knew where it was now. Then I remembered why I hadn't seen the book! The day Remie brought it home was the day I had a babysitter at the house so I could grocery shop alone! I immediately asked the babysitter if she remembered seeing the book. She said "yes, Remie read it to me"! Awesome, if she saw the book then she must know where it is. The babysitter said that the last time she saw the book it was in a pile with a bunch of Golden Books. Alright! I know where the golden books are! I ran upstairs into the boys closet and found the pile of Golden Books! I went through every single book and guess what? The Rocks and Minerals book was not there.
It was then that I started questioning my sanity. Did I throw it away? I have been sleep deprived and it's possible that I accidentally threw the book away....hmmm I spent the next week searching for this book and evaluating my mental condition.
Finally the night before library day, I remembered the missing book again. I told the kids that after dinner we were all going to search the house for the book and whoever found it would get $1. That was enough motivation for the kids. They tore the house completely apart and found NOTHING!
It was at that moment that I knew we were going to have to pay for the book. I began interrogating Remie.
"Was it hard or soft cover?" I asked.
"Soft" he said.
"Did it look like a brand new book or was it old?"
"Old. It had tape holding it together."
"Well that's good news, hopefully it won't be too expensive."
I looked at Remie Sr and gave him the nod. I picked up my phone and began emailing Remie's teacher to find out how much we owe for the book. It was at that moment Charlotte came waltzing in the kitchen. For some reason I decided to ask her one more time if she'd seen the book.
Charlotte replied, "The Rocks and Minerals book? Yea, I took it to school and put it in the non-fiction bin in my classroom"
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