Why I nearly missed my plane

I just got back from a trip to San Diego that took me through the Houston International airport. My son Henry was traveling with me and its a good thing because as we neared our gate, my eye caught site of a sign in the Concourse C walkway that said "Inside: Brighton." I grabbed Henry and pulled him inside a store that would normally hold no interest for me whatsoever, a PGA Golf store full of golf shirts and accessories with broadcasts of hushed-tone sportscasters narrating a pro game on overhead video screens. (Jeez, you might was well take me into an auto parts store.) But there at the back of the store was a hidden treasure trove of Brighton! My eyes darted over the merchandise crammed into this small nook in the back of the store. Not only did they have many of the newest products, they had an older one that I've been on the hunt for: the red braided leather bandit with the silver bar inscribed with the words, "Follow Your Heart." I did and took it up to the counter to pay, where I started chatting up two nice lady clerks about why there was a Brighton section in this PGA store. One explained that it was supposed to be "something for the ladies" when there husbands come in the store. Well, certainly I can't imagine a better incentive. I was becoming engrossed in my conversation with the clerks when my son tugged on my sleeve and said, "Mom! Our flight's boarding!" I had totally forgotten I was in an airport about to catch a flight!

And then there were three...

It's spring break here and my 7th grade son Henry has just brought me the mail. "Brighton. Of course," he deadpans, handing me a small package. I explain, though he's not real interested, that it is something I had to buy twice, a replacement set of some of my favorite earrings, the white and blue ones that belong to the Pop Garden collection. (I have the bracelet, both sets of coordinating necklaces, both sets of earrings and even the matching pony tail holder.) One of my original set went missing some time ago. "Uh oh, I hope it wasn't something I lost," Henry says. When I get the package open, then the tin, Henry says, "Yep it is." If you have, or have had, a son this age you know that expressing shock or anger at a moment like this is a waste of energy. I just looked at him and asked, Why do you think you lost it? "Cause I was playing with them. They hook together so well." He's referring to the french wires. I see now my son has made Barrel Monkeys out of my favorite Pop Garden earrings. I suggest he look for my missing earring near wherever he last played with them. He begins digging through sofa cushions and calls out his discoveries: "A sock. More socks. Another sock. The original TV remote. A piece of candy corn." But no earring. Do any of the socks match? I call out. "No," he says. So now I have three matching earrings and four mismatched socks. Henry asks, somewhat nervously, if I lost "that big round thing" that he says is "so much fun to toss." He's talking about my 2-inch-wide Serendipity bangle. "Uh no. That's a lot harder to lose." Note to self: Put the jewelry straight into the jewelry box when I take it off. And buy son Barrel of Monkeys.