#19  Something you lost.
If Sting was the king of pain, I am the queen of losing things.  On a typical day I will misplace my keys, driver’s license, debit card and purse.  These things usually turn up.  I will admit that this tendency is very annoying to the people who are standing by the door waiting for me.  “Just a second, I have to find my debit card.  I think it’s in the pants I was wearing yesterday.”  Very annoying.

Growing up, if you couldn’t find something my mom’s typical suggestion was to “walk backwards in your mind.”  I would always picture myself walking backwards and tripping over the lost item.  My dad took a different approach. Lecture.  He would lecture us on keeping things in a special place.

“Dad, I can’t find my shoes!”

“Heather, you need to have a special place!”

Now that my Dad is getting older and doesn’t know where the remote control is 97% of the time it is fun to remind him of this.

“Heather Lena, where’s the remote?”

“Well, Dad, maybe if you kept it in a SPECIAL PLACE you would know.”

I also like to throw in my Grandma Johnson’s advice.  “Look with your hands!”

There are a few items I have lost and all the walking backwards in my mind and looking with my hands have not found.  It is funny that both the items are jewelry.  When I was in my twenties I bought a really nice ring.  It was that special time in my life when every single woman I knew was getting married.  In a fit of “you go girl/ you don’t need a man” I bought a very nice ring.  It was gold and it had some very, very tiny diamonds in it.  I lost it and it has not been found.  So, I guess I’m not married to myself anymore??

The other thing I lost was a necklace with an hourglass.  The “sand” in the hourglass was made out of diamond dust.  (I know you are impressed.)  Now, this is the embarrassing part.  I ordered this necklace from NBC.  From the Days of Our Lives store.  Yes, like Sands Through the Hourglass I really like Days of Our Lives.  The necklace was beautiful and now it is gone.  I would have just bought another one but they don’t sell it anymore.  But, I hold out hope.  Since the necklace is the product of a soap opera perhaps it will come back to life much like the much detested Stefano DiMera.  (Insert Evil Laughter)

#20 Something you found.

One time when I was driving to visit my friend in Sheboygan, Wisconsin; I decided to take the scenic route.  This next part may be hard to believe……but I got terribly lost.  After an hour of trying to find where I was supposed to be going the fuel light started blinking.  I drove into a small town and found a gas station.  While I was filling up my car I looked over at the dilapidated building next to the gas station and the faded, peeling sign said, “Bakke Feed and Seed.”  When I saw that I burst into laughter and then I started crying.  Much to the horror of the small town gas station attendant. Did I mention that this gas station did not have pay at the pump so he got to deal with me first hand?  (I’m sure I would be his answer to the question, Have you ever had a customer who couldn’t decide between laughing and crying?) I decided that this little detour could provide the life lesson that sometimes when you think you are lost, you are in fact, exactly where you were meant to be.