PROJECT 365 - Day 291 - This lunchbox

PROJECT 365 - Day 291 - This lunchbox

This lunchbox was the source of about a half hour of my life that I will never get back.  After picking the kids up at the end of the day, as I was just about to leave the parking lot, a voice from the back of the van says "Mommy....?  I think I lost my lunchbox."  Me being the ever logical asked "You don't know if you lost it or not?" Not helpful, I know....  "Ok, ok, we haven't left school yet, I will just turn around and you can go and look for it. Where did do you think you left it?"  "I don't know..." is the answer that my first born gives me.  So I make an executive decision to go into the office and check the lost and found.  He tells me that he thinks he left it outside after lunch.  The Princess, ever helpful, says she thinks she saw someone bring a lunchbox inside... So we look and no lunchbox in the lost and found.  We go and check the two classrooms that he is in to no avail.  We check a few other classes to see if someone brought it inside.  Nope.  Ok....I drive through the parking lot one last time and look outside again and then determine that the lunchbox is no where to be found and decide that we need to head home.  At this point, I am losing my patience.  I still have chicken to cut and dinner to make, I left a Kick Buttowski costume half done on the counter when I left to get the kids, my head hurts, and I am admittedly annoyed that The Bear has lost his lunchbox....  So as I begin the lecture of how he needs to keep track of his things....I hear a sniffly voice from the back of the van say...are you ready for this????..... "I just realized that it is in my backpack."  "WHAT? Are you kidding me?  It's in your backpack and has been this whole time?"  "Yes" said the first born.  "So you are telling me that we just spent a half hour looking for a lunchbox that was in your backpack and therefore in the car the.whole.time?"  "yeeessss...." sniffle sniffle, sob, sob....  At this point, I started laughing so hard I was afraid I would not be able to drive home.  I am fairly certain that my lovely children were concerned that I had finally gone completely crazy.  That may not have been completely off the mark either.  I decided that at that moment, if I didn't laugh, I would just cry.  It was just too ridiculous not to laugh.