The wrapping paper mystery

A few weeks ago I was in Target admiring the nice wrapping paper. However, the practical side of me said that we didn't need any more, we already had a few rolls at home that would certainly get us through this Christmas season.

But then one of the rolls ran out. Then another roll. Then I lost a roll of wrapping paper. So we were out. How, you might be wondering, does one lose a roll of wrapping paper? It's not something small and easily tucked into a pocket or drawer like stamps or keys or a hot wheels car. It's about 3.5 feet long. I looked under the couches, not there. The closets, not there. The laundry room, which for the smallest room in the house, houses a lot of stuff like extra batteries, cleaning supplies, mailing supplies, diapers, in addition to the usual laundry room items, a washing machine, dryer, sink, detergent, drying rack, dirty and clean clothes. Not there.

I'm trying to put things out of Sam's reach these days to avert mess and chaos, but I often put it somewhere out of sight and it's done so quickly that I don't remember where I hid it. Shortly after Matthew was born we were looking for our security box to put his birth certificate into. I had absolutely no recollection of hiding it anywhere when we moved a year ago and was certain I had nothing to do with it. We looked in Ken and Cheri's garage and basement where we had stored stuff before we moved and could not find it. Jason vaguely remembered hiding it somewhere and fortunately we found it, along with our important security-box items.

Back to the wrapping paper. I'm sure I hid it somewhere, yes, it was me and not Jason, but I have no recollection of where I put it. Another sign of age and sleep deprivation. Well, maybe it was Jason. So we ran out of wrapping paper, and right before Christmas we have to venture out to a store to buy some more along with the throngs of last-minute Christmas shoppers. So yesterday morning we went to Target to buy some wrapping paper and toothbrush heads. I was admiring the pretty wrapping paper again when Sam got excited about Mickey Mouse paper. I was not planning on Mickey Mouse. How about the gold paper with Merry Christmas written in calligraphy all over it? Beautiful. Sam was insistent upon Mickey Mouse. I thought about the joy I'd experience with the gold wrapping paper and Sam's joy with having Mickey Mouse. It was obvious that he was much more joyful about the Mickey paper. We purchased it and now Sam wants to play with the roll of Mickey Mouse paper. So I must hide it somewhere...