A Story with a Twist (-Tie)

Jonathan and I will celebrate five years of marriage later this month. It seems like it was just yesterday when he was proposing to me on the Bow Bridge in New York City's Central Park.

Less than a year later we were married. To symbolize our love and commitment for/to each other, we did what most couples do-we exchanged rings. This brings me to today's story. We had an exciting morning!

Abigail is in the midst of potty training (and is doing pretty good so far). The hard part for me has been letting her clean up after herself because she insists that I (1) not help and (2) not watch (Miss Independent). After a few times on her own she was able to clean up and wash her hands on her own with little mess.

This morning I was feeding Sarah and getting her ready for her nap. Abigail had a little "victory" and had to clean up. I didn't give things a second thought and let her go her merry way while I continued with my business. The next thing I heard was Abigail saying "Uh oh" a few times and tapping/clanging noises. I knew what had happened. I could feel it in my stomach. Abigail dropped my rings down the sink.

I peeked down the drain to find that my wedding band got caught in the bar-thing that holds the stopper (I am all about the sink/plumbing jargon). I grabbed a wire hanger and retrieved the band pretty quickly. My engagement ring, on the other hand, was nowhere to be seen. I called my Mom asking something like, "If a two-year old happens to drop rings down a sink, they aren't gone forever, are they?" My mom was with a group of friends who promptly told her that sinks have traps for such a time as this. I had no idea how to open our trap and ended up calling my brother-in-law.

In about half an hour we were paid a visit by Auntie Laura, Uncle Nick, Bridget and my Mom. Nick opened the trap and found the ring, but, can you believe it, the ring was too big to fit through the trap opening! What's the point in having a trap if it is too small for a ring!

Nick tried everything: a wire hanger from the sink to the trap, a wire hanger from the trap to the sink, thinner wire doing the same thing, tape attached to said wires, etc. Nothing was working. Finally my Mom suggested twist-ties (you know, those things you toss in the junk drawer or garbage). We managed to loop one twist-tie through my ring from the trap opening. We then attached another twist-tie loop so we had more to work with. Then we ran a thin wire from the sink to the trap, secured the end of the wire to the last twist-tie loop, and then successfully retrieved my engagement ring. PHEW!

I treated everyone to lunch for saving the day. I decided to call Jonathan on the way there now that my story had a happy ending. I don't think we'll be keeping anything near the bathroom sink from now on. So much to learn!