R.I.P. Gingy :-(

Well, I learned a hard lesson about parenting today that nearly broke my heart, but fortunately, that lesson was also comical.  Sit back and enjoy this tale of love found, love lost, road kill and redemption.

My friend Morgan invited me and the kids to her house today to do some Christmas cookie decorating.  It was like a scene out of some wonderful holiday movie.  Morgan's home is SO inviting and relaxing... it's one of those homes that truly do make you feel right at home.  She had cute Christmas decorations throughout the house, Christmas plates to eat off of, snowflake glasses to drink from, and even an adorable holiday tea set for our girls to enjoy together.

Our girls and Morgan's A-DOR-A-BLE little boy (I could write a whole post about how cute this little guy is!) all sat down with their freshly baked gingerbread-man-shaped cookies at Morgan's kitchen table and started decorating!  The snow was falling gently outside the kitchen window, and Kaycie was having a ball!  She took great care in decorating her cookie man, and in true Shrek fan fashion, she affectionately named her creation "Gingy".

Gingy (I sooo wish I had pictures to share, but alas... I forgot my camera) was very dapper.  His adorable feet were buried in about an inch and a half of frosting, with gumdrops on top of that!  A humongous pile of red sprinkles made a handsome vest, and another massive pile of frosting fashioned a face.  Kaycie was SO proud.  She made another "Gingy" for good measure, and after she and her friends were done their cookie decorating extravaganza, they were set aside for safe keeping, and off the kids went for some play time.

As all play dates do, this one came to an end, and I bundled up the kids, we said our thank you's, and we headed out the door for home.  Morgan presented Kaycie with her little tin foil pan of cookies to take home so that she could show Daddy her creations.  After hugs and waves, and an epic battle over whether or not Kaycie could take home Morgan's neighbour's shovel, we were on our way.

I was driving along, Christmas music drifting through our van, Kaycie and I singing away, goofy grin plastered across my face, when she stopped singing and innocently asked, "Mama, can I look at my Gingy?".

Whirrrp!

(for those with an untrained ear, that was the sound of a record needle scratching vinyl)

My joy came to a screeching halt as my holiday giddiness was immediately replaced by holiday horror, and the realization that I had left Gingy and Gingy in their tinfoil pan ON TOP OF THE CAR!

I tried not to panic, thinking that if I slammed on the brakes, I would surely send the Gingies (I have been avoiding writing "Gingy" in plural form, because I just don't know how to do it!  This will have to do, though.) to their demise if there was any hope that they were still on the roof.  I threw on my 4-ways and slowly pulled over and got out of the car.  All this time, Kaycie is of course asking, "Why are you pulling over?", "Where's Gingy?", "What are you doing?"

I opened the door, stepped out of the van, took a deep breath and looked up.  Of course, there was no tray.  I mean, who was I kidding... as if this little pan had stood any chance at all on a blustery winter day on top of a freaking van!

I slowly got back into the car, and turned around and said to Kaycie,

"Honey, mommy did something kind of silly."

"What, Mom?"

"Well, I put your cookies on top of the van when we were all getting in the car to go home, and I forgot them there, and now they've blown off the top of the van!  Isn't that silly?!"

I know... novice mistake... I was trying to make light of the situation hoping Kaycie would just say something like, "Oh Mommy, that's so funny!  Oh well, let's go home."  I was clearly delusional.

Kaycie was devastated.  I could see the realization of what had just happened creep across her sweet, innocent little face.  She started to panic and said, "Is Gingy ok, Mom?  We have to go back!  We have to go back and find my Gingies!"  I suddenly had this insanely irrational hope that somehow this tray had landed right side up in a fluffy snowbank! 

I wheeled the car around and we re-traced our path back to Morgan's subdivision, looking all the way for any sign of Gingy and co.  Suddenly, up ahead, I saw smear of red and white on the road, and a foil pan dancing across the road on the wind.  My heart sunk, and a lump formed in my throat.  Poor Gingy and Gingy.  I can only hope that death came swiftly to the two of them.  They didn't stand a chance... poor little guys!  They and the asphalt were now one... literally... they were completely squashed.

I kept driving, but said to Kaycie, "Honey, I found them and I don't think we can take them home... they got run over by a car, sweetie."  I turned the car and headed for home as Kaycie started bawling.  I apologized profusely, of course, but the tears kept coming.  I asked her what I could do to make her feel better, and she said, "I want to see them."

Of course!  This must be the 'closure' that people talk about!  I wheeled the car around for the third time, pulled over to the side of the road beside the carnage, and let Kaycie pay her respects.  I apologized again, and the little cutie says, "It's ok Mama.  Don't worry."  I can't even describe the relief I felt when she said those words!  It amazes me in hindsight how horrible I had felt about the whole thing - she had been so proud of her creations and in the blink of an eye, they were gone, and it was completely my fault!  But, she amazed me with her maturity about the whole thing once she was able to see them.

So, off we went, but Kaycie was still a little teary eyed.  She called from the backseat, "Mommy, do you think Morgan has another Gingy for me?"  Well, long story short, Morgan was a super mom and once she heard our tale of woe, we wheeled around for the fourth time and headed back to Morgan's for our replacement Gingy.  (Morgan, if you're out there.... you're the best!  Thank you!!!!)

So, my hard learned lesson is one that will stick with me.  You won't catch me putting anything on the roof of the car again for a very, very long time!

Rest In Pieces, Gingy.  :-(

UPDATE:
Thanks to Morgan, I now have a picture of Gingy the First to share with you!  See below for Gingy and the remnants of Gingy's airborne grave.  :-(