I wish I had all of the things I have lost, misplaced or forgotten through the years.
I feel so inept when I lose something, or misplace something or forget something. Not to mention the fact that I miss the object that I lost, misplaced or forgot.
For instance, there was the coupon for $10 off of clothing that I could buy at a home clothing party. (Some of you may remember those home clothing parties from yesteryear.) Well, I was burning paper in the burning bin outside the house one day. Since I am always anxious to get rid of extraneous items and materials, I went through some folders and threw them into the fire. As the flames were leaping up, I realized I had thrown my $10 coupon into them.There would be no discount for me.
Speaking of fires, there were the books that I no longer needed that I decided to incinerate. A couple of days later I wanted to look up something and remembered that the information was in one of the books I had thrown into the fire. Fortunately my son saw the book, retrieved it from the fire and was able to hand it to me. “Let that be a lesson to you,” he said.
Well, I didn’t learn my lesson. A few years ago, Sweetheart and I were moving from a semi-large house into a tiny cottage. We had several yard sales to get rid of things that we didn’t need that wouldn’t fit into our cottage. I thought I had saved the one book that had information I wanted. Turns out it was the wrong book.
And don’t even mention sunglasses. I have lost and misplaced more sunglasses than I can count. I especially remember the sunglasses I won at the silent auction. They were $70 glasses that I got for a $20 bid. Two days later I went to a presentation in the gazebo at the city park. I was wearing my new sunglasses, of course. Trouble is the sun was no longer shining when I went home and I didn’t need to wear them. So, I went home without them, of course. As you can see, the memory still haunts me.
And then there was the hoodie I got at a yard sale a long time ago. It was marked at 25 cents, but, since the sales lady was my friend, she gave it to me at no charge. I was traveling a few days later and left it in the hotel room where I was staying. You know, sometimes I value the things I get at a bargain more than what I paid a hundred dollars for.
If I had a dime for every time I left my cell phone in a restroom stall, I would be a rich woman. My guardian angel watches over me, because I have always got it back, one way or the other.
I think about those things I lost, misplaced or forgot from time to time.I don’t know if I miss those things as much as I regret the lapse of memory or attentiveness that caused me to have that error in judgment.
And, you know what? Life go es on without those things. They weren’t so important, after all. After all, they were just things.
Dorothy is the author of two books—“Miles and Miracles” and “Getting It All Together “. You can purchase a book or send a comment by emailing her at dorothybutzknight@gmail.com