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I love my son. The life he brings to the house is more than I could have possibly imagined. And though he’s a smart boy, sometimes he acts like his father.

We’re working on the potty training, so Tuesday afternoon when he told my wife he had to go to the potty, she told him to go in there and she would be right behind him. About a minute later, there was chaos.

Brett had taken one of his small rubber baseballs that he plays with in the tub, and he dropped it in the toilet. Then, for reasons only known to a 2 year old boy, he flushed it. Several times he flushed it. His sister was screaming because it was the green ball; he was screaming because water is going everywhere. Toilet water is not supposed to go everywhere. Even a 2 year old knows that. So there he stood with one wet arm (because he had to reach to try to get it back) in a bathroom that had been completely fine 30 seconds earlier. They dried up the water and waited for me to get home.

With help from a wire hanger, I was able to determine that the rubber ball was still in the toilet, and not in the pipes as I had feared. I emptied the tank and bowl, and then pulled the toilet off of the floor for closer inspection.

The ball was stuck. I couldn’t see it. I fiddled around with my coat hanger for a while, then a screwdriver, then a fish tape. Nothing seemed to work. I flipped it upside down in the bath tub, and poured a half bottle of dish soap down the back side of the toilet to lubricate the pipes.

Then I flipped it back over (still in the tub), filled the bowl, and started plunging. What seemed like hours later (but was only probably 15-20 minutes), I was finally able to see the ball in the back of the toilet.

Since I couldn’t grab the ball (big hands, small hole), I used a box cutter to cut a slit in the ball large enough to put my finger in. From there I was able to work the ball out of the toilet. And there was much rejoicing in the land.

I put the bathroom back together, took a long shower, and thought about how much like me that little monster is. My mom tells me I never flushed anything like that, but I’m not so sure she’s right. She probably just didn’t catch me. I’m sure this isn’t the worst thing the boy will ever do. And if you keep reading this blog long enough, I’m sure you’ll get to hear about many, many more adventures from the land of Ron.