Sunday, December 18, 2011

If it's breakable don't drop it.......

I was trying to get my son a decorative elephant for his new house for Christmas (his request).  Last Sunday I found a ceramic elephant I liked that wasn't expensive and brought it home.  I was getting my bags out of the car when I dropped them on the ground and the elephant broke into a few pieces.  I was furious with myself as it was a stupid thing to do but my husband thought he could repair it by gluing it back together.
Here is the elephant. Cute little guy - doesn't look too
bad, does it?  This is the "good" side.

The chip!



It actually worked quite well and there is just one small chip missing. I didn't feel really good about giving a chipped elephant as a present though so I asked a friend to pick me up another.  She went to the store and there appeared to be none there.  But they went "out back" and got her another one.  I saw her Friday night at a party, got the elephant, brought it home and put it on the counter.  Before I went for my run on Saturday I decided to clean up a bit and took a few things down cellar, the elephant being one of them. It was still packed in the box it came in.  When I got there the top of the box came open (I was holding it sideways) and the elephant slid out at rocket speed and SMASHED on the concrete floor.  I started screaming and aimed a few choice words at my brilliance once again.  My husband got home a few minutes later and I think he thought I had broken the water pump or something serious before he saw all the pieces. He once again told me he thought he could fix it but I mumbled something sweet like, "Don't be ridiculous."


I was going shopping and thought I would pick up yet another one.  When I got to the store they had 3 more but I COULD NOT bring myself to purchase one.  I had no faith whatsoever that I would not break yet another one.


I went from store to store having a good time browsing when I found a cute inexpensive elephant hook.  It could be used to hold keys or some other small thing.   I got it. And guess what?  It is made of metal and I would have a pretty hard time breaking it.
Here's the elephant hook - much better than another broken
ceramic elephant!


 I was  still shopping going in some stores I don't usually frequent when I hit the mother lode of elephant stores.  It was where I should have started.  I couldn't resist one more small one - also made of metal and seemingly unbreakable.

When I got home my husband had brought the smashed one upstairs and had the glue warming up to room temperature. I told him to hold off. I am wrapping all four and Jameson will have to hear the story and open them in the proper sequence.  If he wants his father to try to repair it that's fine but I thought we could have a little fun out of this debacle on Christmas Day.  What person doesn't love to open a present that has shattered into several pieces?
The elephant from the "elephant store."  I could
drop him a few times and he'd look just fine!

21 comments:

misszippy said...

That is really unreal! At least there will be a good story to go with it for years to come! You're a good mama.

2 Slow 4 Boston said...

You could paint the broken elephant white, and give it away as a white elephant exchange gift :-)

Michael said...

I do think it will make for an interesting Christmas morning story :)

Hope the rest of the elephants make it ok til Christmas day!

RunningWhit said...

Too funny! I can't wait to hear Jameson's reaction to the four elephants.

Lindsay said...

jameson doesn't read the blog? :)

funny story, glad you were able to find some that are unbreakable! must have been b/c that first one's trunk is down... i believe trunk up means good luck? if you believe in that sort of stuff anyway.

i've been meaning to get some ceramic creatures for my living room. well, not a ton of course, but a few. need to put up shelves first!

Jennifer said...

Ha ha. Great story. I would have been so frustrated!

Char said...

That's just awesome. A present WITH a story. A story of anticipation, devastation, hope, more devastation, acceptance and a change in direction then finally joy. He'll love it!

Ewa said...

Is it OK to laugh? Please tell me it's OK. It is a funny story and I could use some laughs!
Sorry about the elephant though.
Hope you and your family have a wonderful Christmas. Just stay away from breakables. :-)

Liz said...

I can't believe you broke 2 elephants! Giving him the broken pieces is a great idea!

Johann said...

Oh my! I like your idea for Christmas and think it would be good fun. I must admit that I really love elephants.

Laura said...

This is sooooo something I would do.
And I LOVE that you are giving them all to him..Perfect!

Kate Geisen said...

I know this has been frustrating, but it's also hilarious and (best of all for a blogger) a great story. :)

Anonymous said...

The story behind the elephants will make them real home treasures now. Great finds! They're lovely!

Kandi said...

I can sense your frustrations over this poor elephant but you have got me cracking up over here. I love the hook and the other elephant you found so maybe it was supposed to go this way so you could find those. haha. I'm sure Jameson will appreciate all you went through to get him the perfect elephant.

Amy said...

OMG - I can't believe you broke the 2nd one too! Oh well, at least your son will get a fab gift with a hilarious story to go with it! And three elephants, after all!

Marlene said...

Oh no, that's some bad luck. I'm sure your son will get a laugh out of it!

Katie said...

oh man!

Kate Geisen said...

No more races, though I hope I'll be able to get out and run and/or ride. One more day of school!

MCM Mama said...

I love Christmas presents with stories. My dad once gave my mom this awful chicken that was specifically made for her (she collected chickens). It looked sort of like an orange big bird. He wrapped it in a garbage bag. 20 years later, if anyone brings it up, we laugh until we cry. Best.present.ever.

Fran said...

Oh man, talk about bad luck. Something that could totally happen to me too.

About the photo on my blog: I was alone that day. The photo was taken by someone the race organization hired and were free to download.

A Prelude To... said...

oh my gosh...that is SO totally something I would do. I'm glad you hit the motherload of elephant stores, though. You got some great things! Merry Christmas!