Don't Blame the Handicapped Kid!

We have a saying around here that the nephew started. "Don't blame the handicapped kid." It's what we hear any time someone says, "Micah did it." I'm not sure why it really became a thing, but I'd like to think it was because everyone blames Micah for everything around this place. I mean, the boy really is responsible for so much of the stuff that disappears and gets eaten, but not all of it. We do have 4 other kids in the house.

So on Easter Sunday I wanted to get a traditional Easter Sunday picture of our family all together. The whole family has a hard time just getting together on any given day, and if we are together, nobody is dressed nicely. If I ask for that to change, the wonderfully  happy moods turn into grumpiness that nobody wants to see in pictures. But Easter is the magical day when I decide that it'll happen, and everyone decides to comply.

I gave the warning cry that we needed to leave 15 minutes early, and I wanted to take family pictures before we left.

The teen boys cried back that they were walking out the door for band practice. Drat. I forgot about that on Sunday mornings. (The nephew is the drummer on the praise band. And a stellar one at that. In fact, if you're in the area you should definitely come to a church service just to hear him. Josh helps run the sound board.)

I was disgruntled that my photo op was foiled again. But then the boys came back into the house and I thought, for a minute, that they were going to pose for pictures for a second or two before running out the door. Turns out, the nephew couldn't find his car keys. And it was totally Micah's fault, because that wee rascal has been kifing all kinds of things around the house lately. We never did find the keys so we had to all finish getting ready in 2 minutes and drive the boys in to the church. They were almost on time.

We were at church 15 minutes when Micah ditched his clip on bowtie. His sweater vest lasted a good half hour. This is exactly why I want family photos before church. Afterward, we are all in a state of undress that just isn't becoming for formal photos. Plus my hair and makeup aren't fresh anymore. And it was raining after church anyway, so outdoor photos were just not an option. And were in the house are we going to pose 7 people for a family picture? Nowhere, that's where.

After church we all looked for the nephew's car keys. Or at least tossed out suggestions while he looked. We asked Micah several times, and he finally broke out his talker to communicate. "The weather is stormy." Well, it rather was, but that was beside the point. But Micah led the nephew out into the stormy weather to the keyless car to show the nephew exactly where it was. He's helpful that way, Micah is.

And then the nephew found his keys in his gym bag, right where he put them after driving home from track practice Saturday morning. "Don't blame the handicapped kid!" was the funniest line of the day when played against the one who loves to cry that himself.