Click here to tell a Friend about Love@Home™

Make Love@Home™
your home page

By Bernadine Sevy

Yesterday I was driving on the highway, in rush hour traffic, when one of my children started to yell that Miriam, the four year old, had an earring in her ear.

"That’s a good place for it to be."

"No Mom, it’s IN her ear!"

I pulled off the road as quickly as I safely could and Miriam scrambled from the rear of the Suburban and hung over the seat. I examined her ear. I was shocked, the earring had to be in pretty deep because I couldn’t see it. They chorused, panicking; "The other ear!"

Miriam turned her head and there it was, she’d shoved it in nice and deep but I could see the 1/4 inch of bright round plastic, a stick on earring, shoved into the outer ear canal. I reached into the cavernous chambers of my purse and pulled out my micro leather man. Miriam squealed and I laughed: "I’m not going to use the knife you goose, I’m going to use the tweezers!"

After a few seconds of the tweezer points slipping on earwax I extracted the earring and handed it to Miriam. "It goes on your ear, not in it."

The contents of my purse could sustain my family for three days in case of an emergency. Not only are there the confiscated remains of treats from kind cashiers, (Why do they hand a child, who is wearing his third clean outfit of the day a sucker for being good at the check out?), but diapers, wipes, matches, my well-used miniature first aid kit, immunization records, crushed M&M’s in the bottom, fingernail clippers, tissues, Palm Pilot, cell phone, walkie talkies, a couple of hair combs, lipstick, a retrieved bootie, binkies, each child’s personal checkbook, my check book, change purse, colic medication, receipts, pens and paper, and of course my micro leather man. The purse is cacophonous and heavy, it’s like hauling around my own untuned, unpracticed orchestra but every item is necessary and the minute I removed it, I’d need it.

You may argue!

Why matches?

I love to roast marshmallows, warm up etc. after a hike in the mountains.

Crushed M&M’s? 

They taste as good as whole ones, and what temper tantrum two year old knows the difference.

First aid kit? 

I have 5 sons, and a four year old daughter who thinks she’ll bleed to death of she doesn’t get a band aid on every scratch.

Diapers and wipes? 

Don’t ask if you don’t know.

The handiest and most used item in my purse is the extra "binkies" and my cell phone, Jim can attest to the latter. The least used? The hair combs.

Let me know about your purse. I feel like I’m missing a thing or two.