When only the best will do.....................

I will explain.

A week ago we visited my brother and his family. As we were leaving, my sister in law gave Emily and Sam a halloween ziplock bag with some candy in it (Allyson had gotten a small bag of candy as a birthday gift and they were fretting).

They ate their candy. We stopped at a pizza place for dinner. When leaving, I did the typical 'scan the table, floor, seats, ledges' thing moms do in order to determine what you are leaving behind. I saw the bag. It was empty. An empty ziplock=trash. Off we go.

Half way home Emily inquires as to where her bag is. I told her I threw it away. That is when it began.

She was devastated. I offered her Sam's ziplock as a consolation- but his was different. Scarecrows, jackolantern, different. Not the same. Not her bag.

I explain that we can buy a box of halloween ziplocks. She expects the car to stop immediately to purchase them. Didn't happen.

Every day, every single day, we have discussed this ziplock. It's perfect balance of pumpkins and candy. It's ziplockedness. It's ability to save the world. And virtually every day we have shopped in different stores, looking for the halloween ziplocks.

Now, mind you, there is already a christmas isle at Target. 3 months early. But halloween ziplocks, no they are not in stock yet. Anywhere. Target, Meijer, Marsh, Kroger, Sam's Club, CVS, no where. Everytime we go shopping, we discuss the ziplock bag and look for them. Then we ask the employees and they look for them. All to no avail.

Everytime I come in the door, Emily asks me if I found the halloween ziplocks yet.

We have discussed that bag no less than 27 times since last Sunday.

Then it happened- Monday I saw an employee with a cart full of product at Target. And there they were, cases of halloween ziplocks, napkins and papertowels. Like a freak on a mission I grabbed that man and I asked him to crack it open and give me a box PULEEEESE! Shaking and breathing rapidly- much like and addict in search of crack. My fix was within reach.

Emily cradled them like a long lost love. We pay for them. I bust open the box. Pull one out. Hand it to her, with great anticipation that we will not discuss these ziplocks ever again.

"That's not it. Mine has 3 by 3 pumpkins and 4 pieces of candy." She hands it back to me like a rejected kitten.

Of course not. These are knock off halloween ziplocks, made by hefty. I should have known. These are not good enough.

All joking aside, I call my sister in law and beg, uh, I mean ask if she by chance has any of those ziplocks left. At the risk of sounding completely neurotic, I explain the situation and she begins to laugh. I wait for her to stop. When she does, she says she picked them up last year while on clearance. Of course. So I am now hunting the retired, collectible version of this dag gone bag.

Today in the mail, there is an envelope addressed to Miss Emily. And inside:

The perfect ziplock bag. 3 by 3 pumpkins, 4 pieces of candy. Practically perfect in every way.

Emily looked at it. I asked if it was her bag, to which she responded it was.

Then she asked why Aunt Lori would mail her a ziplock bag.

I surrender.