near disaster (averted)

One Saturday morning a few weeks ago, following an unusually terrible night with Liesl, Steve took the children away so that I could get some sleep. They went to Kneaded Bread in Port Chester and then down to Scenic Hudson park in Irvington. I met them there and then we all came back up the hill for lunch. We got home, and it transpired that Sebastian's duckies were missing. These are the magic sleep lovies - these duckies have been in his bed since he was a wee baby, and he's never taken a nap or a night's sleep without them.  This was a disaster. They were not in the car. Steve remembered seeing the duckies at the bakery in PC.  We asked Sebastian what had happened to them, and he reported that he took them out of the car at the park and was carrying them when he ran to watch the fishermen.  Ugh. Sebastian crawled in for his nap, distraught and clutching the backup lovies, while I ran back down to the park.  I spent 20 minutes combing the various pathways, the playgrounds, looking under trees - nothing.  No bright yellow and orange duckies.  I came back home and searched the car again - nothing.  Then I went online and tried to find replacements, knowing that the duckies were no longer being made and unable to remember the name of the manufacturer. At last I found them, at one random toy store site, and bookmarked the page.  And then, Steve opened one of the bakery bags, and there were the duckies, safe and sound and surrounded by our bread!! We carefully tucked them in next to sleeping Sebastian, and breathed a sigh of relief.  Disaster, averted.

And that's what passes for high drama in our household. Phew.