Voices in my head... now,with musical accompaniment

Memory triggered by Tammi's missing toilet paper

Years ago, when Elder Son was only a year old, we were packing up the house to move to another city.
I was exhausted, hormonal, and stressed by the whole home selling process.
Did I mention I was also pregnant and bellywide with Younger Son?
Yeah.  Any one of those things alone was enough to kick my butt.
But the combination was maddening.

When I closed my eyes at night, I could hear voices.
Not scary telling-me-what-to-do voices.
Just murmurs.
Like someone left the TV on in the next room.

Sooooo friggin' tired!

So, I learned to ignore the voices.
And continued to slowly pack up the house.

One day, I paused to put lotion on my hands. When I removed my rings, I told myself, "Remember where you put these. Nothing is where it usually is, so remember where you put these."

Oh.
You know I didn't.

Several hours later, I realized I wasn't wearing my rings.
But when I looked for them, I couldn't find them.
Anywhere.

Of course not.

Well, I knew they were around somewhere in the house.
The problem was that we'd be closing on the house in two weeks, so I had two weeks to remember where I'd left them.
And I'd left them somewhere different. Great.

Meanwhile, packing.
Packing and entertaining toddler.
Napping? I wish.
No napping. Just the voices.

Then...

There was a new sound.
Tiny bells.

Do you hear that? It sounds like bells. Little jingle bells.
But only once in a while.
Like first thing in the morning.
Or getting ready for bed.
Sometimes when I'm awake in the middle of the night wandering around the house.
You don't hear them? Shoot. I really need some sleep. I'm going more insane.

And where are my rings!
Can we ask the new owners to mail them to us if they find them?
I know we signed the paper that says everything we leave in the house belongs to them, but do you think they'd be nice enough...?

Packing
and voices
and now the freaking bells!
(like some insane *new and improved* brand of crazy... "now with bells!")

One morning, I just gave up.
I didn't get dressed.
I didn't do anything.
Let the boy crawl around naked except for his diaper, I don't care.
Moped around the house.
Stared at half-packed rooms.
In my bathrobe.
Sulked with my hands in my robe pockets.

Where my fingertips felt...

My rings!!!

My rings jingling around in my bathrobe!
Right there in that different place I'd put them when I'd put lotion on.
Jingling... like tiny bells!

Eureka!
I was NOT going crazy!

Well, not totally crazy, anyway.
Crimeny.