Smurfette and the Ray Gun

The other day I was in the bathroom peeing for a standing position and looked down. There on the bathroom counter looking back up at me was Smurfette.

I got embarrassed and uncomfortable.

It was one of Katie’s little Surf figures that she had gotten for Christmas years ago. She’s been in the process of cleaning her room, organizing her stuff, and busily growing out of childish things. I’m against it. Whether Smurfette was in the ‘to keep’ pile or the ‘to Goodwill’ pile, I don’t know. But it’s mine now.


Lately I’ve been picking up one of my mother’s more distressing habits. Picking small objects that reminds me of the kids at an earlier stage in their development, keeping those small objects, and idolizing them. This Smurfette, for obvious blondish reasons, reminded me of Katie. So I swiped it off the bathroom counter and moved it to the top of a bookcase where only I could see it. It’s the tall person’s act of claiming something without actually removing it from the room.


It’s a Christmas Smurfette, from a set with a Papa Smurf and a little Christmas train or some such nonsense. Usually I’m against the visible Christmas item year-round, but this had quickly moved from ‘Christmas decoration’ to ‘Katie token’. The only problem being that her ray gun is upside down.


Every time I see it, which is now every time I go to the bathroom in my own home, I’m bothered by this. It makes no sense. Did they mean for the ray gun to be upside down? That seems odd. Did the ray gun come loose and Katie put it back in upside down? No… No it’s stuck in her hand. Very odd. I just don’t get it.

The other night I was getting ready for bed and Lorie said to me: “Did you know there’s a Smurfette in the bathroom?”

I was legitimately surprised that she had seen it!

“Yeah. I put it there. It reminds me of Katie.” I grinned. Lorie suspected as much. “But it really bothers me that her ray gun is upside down.”


“Ray gun?” Lorie questioned.

“Yeah, she’s holding a ray gun.” I shrugged. “Only it’s upside-down.”

Lorie sat back shaking her head. “A ray gun? A Christmas ray gun?”

“Yeah.”

“That makes no sense.” She said.

“Especially upside down.” I agreed.

“It would make much more sense if they gave her a stocking instead.” Lorie went back to her reading.

“Yeah.”

I got in bed.

“Huh.” I mused.

I flipped on the iPad and pulled up my comics.

….

“OOooooooooh… a stocking.” I sighed as Lorie devolved into giggles.

Thing is, it never once occurred to me that what Smurfette was holding was anything less than a ray gun. Even upside down.

Sigh.

Thanks,
DCD