These Wonderful Things Are the Things We Remember All Through Our Lives

A few years back...who'm I kidding...nearly a decade back, when we were decorating the house for Christmas, Rach and I strung a length of ribbon with small bells and draped the ring-ting-tingling ribbon around the bottom of the tree, so we'd know if the cat was engaging in forbidden behaviors. The cat loved the gift we'd provided for her and spent hours underneath the tree, batting at the bells. Eventually, we grew accustomed to the tintinnabulation and gave up on reprimanding the cat.

We still have that length of ribbon. It's now sealed in an old, empty water bottle as a makeshift musical shaker for the kids. They ignore it.

When Mini-Me first became mobile during a Christmas decorating season, we moved to advanced precautionary methods. We bought larger sleigh bells with which to decorate the tree, so we'd know if the kid was engaging in forbidden behaviors. The kid loved the gift we'd provided for him and spent hours around the tree, plucking off bells and scattering them throughout the house. Eventually, we grew accustomed to the tintinnabulation and gave up on reprimanding the kid.

We still have the bells. Some of them are on the tree. Many of them are on the floor. We ignore them.

Now we have three kids, two of whom are fully mobile and like touching the Christmas tree. We've learned our lesson, though. Bells don't work unless you add a nightmare...