A lesson not learned.

When our son was a baby, I remember reading about the various stages of development as an infant becomes aware of their surroundings. One of the milestones is the concept of "object permanence." This is when a child realizes that just because their pacifier is not in view (rolled under the chair, covered up by their blankie, hidden in Daddy's pocket, etc.), it still exists.

My children failed to learn this lesson completely.

I have discovered this when getting them ready to leave the house for school in the morning, and have asked them to find any object -- their shoes, their library book, their jacket. They wander into a room, gaze blankly around for a moment, then say, "It's not here." After doing this in every room, they announce that they can't find it... it must be in the van. I go into the room in which the object is most likely to be, and start turning over the top layer or so of civilization, and soon find the object, usually under clothing.

Somehow, my wonderful children fail to realize that things can be under other things (unless, of course, it's one of them, hiding from me under their blankets, blowing their cover by giggling). What a blessing that must be, to think that your room is not THAT messy, simply because you only see the top layer of crud, and believe that there are no layers underneath!

If I followed that reasoning on my desk, I'd soon not be able to see my computer monitor. Not long after, I'd be killed in an avalanche of paper and junk.

On the plus side, the rescue workers would find my keys for me.