The Toy in the River

All last week my dh's work day started earlier than normal, so that meant he also finished work early.  We took advantage of this schedule change and the beautiful weather by spending some time outdoors almost every day.  I packed up the children and we would meet in the city after work.  We went for several walks along the rivers in the area.

Last Friday was another of our river walks.  We got everyone unloaded from the van, and then I put Ariel in the stroller and strapped her in.  I also strapped her toy to the stroller's safety bar.  We finished loading down the stroller with water bottles and other needed stuffs, and then headed out for our walk.

As we crossed the first foot bridge, we stopped to enjoy the view.  It turned to check on Ariel and noticed she had unstrapped the toy from bar, and then I watched as she dropped the toy over the side of the stroller.  It bounced off the bridge, through the railing, and into the rushing water.

I turned and watched the toy as it rapidly floated away down stream, and my heart sank.  I stood there with a dumbfounded "what do I do now" look on my face.

My dear husband loving told me it was just a toy.  He would buy me another.  It was much easier to remedy than a child falling into the river.  All very true and right. But he didn't realize which toy had just been thrown over board...

This toy was one of Ali's toys.

And not just any of her toys, this toy was her first favorite toy.   It was one of the first things she really played with.

She loved this toy!  She played with constantly, so much so she had long ago worn out the non-replaceable batteries.  Truth be told if it had been any of the other children's toys, it probably would have been thrown out long ago, but this was Ali's and it had a lot of memories attached to it.

Tears started to fill my eyes as I realized it was really gone and there was nothing I could do to change it.  I was saddened and very overwhelmed.  It was the culmination of a very emotionally challenging afternoon, and I was spent!

It all lasted only a few moments, and then I realized it really wasn't that important.  It really was just a worn out toy.

Thank God it was only a toy and not a child being rapidly swept away downstream!