Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Thinking Like a Ten Month Old

Brandon was running late getting home from his work meeting tonight. Caleb was already asleep in bed, so I thought I'd turn on the television. Our TV is in an entertainment center that has doors on it that shut, so I had to open the doors in order to watch anything. While I was already standing there, I switched the TV on.

Then I looked around for the remote. Apparently it had been a while since we'd last watched TV.

It wasn't in it's "home" (i.e. either drawer of our coffee table -- I can never remember which of those we keep it in). It wasn't under the couch. Or in the couch cushions. Or in the tiny section between the couch and the wall where stuff often falls. It wasn't lying on top of the coffee table, although way too many other things are. It wasn't hiding in the armchair behind the Christmas pillows that we forgot to put away with the rest of our holiday stuff. I'd already put away the baby's toys, so the floor was clean and it definitely wasn't hiding under the mountainous pile of toys Caleb rarely plays with but still seems to always get all over the place.

I called Brandon. He was pretty sure that the last time he saw the remote, Caleb had been playing with it. Maybe under the coffee table?

Nope. Not there. Nor was it under the armchair, the entertainment center, Caleb's exersaucer, anywhere in the dining room or kitchen. It wasn't in the entertainment center. Still not under the couch.

I was flat out of places to look. So I laid down on the floor and resigned myself to just watching TV the old fashioned way. (How did we live without a TiVo for so long?)

During a commercial break (which I sadly couldn't fastforward), I looked around the room. Now at the same general height as my baby, I tried to think as he would think. If I were only ten months old, where would I think a good spot for the remote control would be?

That's when I spotted Brandon's backpack. Of course. Why didn't I think to look there? I mean, sure, I'd moved the bag, wondering if the remote was under it, but I hadn't looked INSIDE it. How silly of me, I know. So I did. And lo and behold, I found the remote. Which meant that I got to then watch House from the beginning of the episode instead of halfway through when I had turned on the TV.

Ah. The good life.

3 comments:

Jocelyn said...

It was a ggod episode to. I find things in the fridge and with the movies. On our entertainment system, LT thinks is an oven and will put milk and pizza in it. i find it a day later sometimes longer.

Patti said...

Yes, the fun is just beginning. You remember stories of Nora hiding the Christmas presents a couple of months ago! But not to worry- in 30 years or so, you can be an empty nester and everything stays in its place, except for the things your spouse moves without telling you and then you're still stuck.

Brandon said...

I don't know about thinking like a ten month old, but being one doesn't sound too bad. This kid has got everything: all the food he can eat, more toys than a single child can play with, a nap any time he wants one, and no responsibilities. Ah, that's the life.