Ever lose something you had in your hand just moments ago? In our cozy apartment, it happens more often than you'd think. Take our remote control, or as we call it, the clicker. One day, mid-TV show, I took a break for water, and poof, it vanished. I searched the usual spots – multiple times. I even resorted to looking in the frig (my and hubby’s joke, “Did you look in the frig?). But no luck. I gave up and resorted to the Firestick remote, which is bright red and harder to lose. Later when I went to the kitchen, I spotted the clicker upside down on the black stovetop. It was hiding in plain sight.
Then there's my pricey night guard, custom-made by the dentist. I usually remove it in the morning, clean it with a brush, and lie on the bathroom vanity to dry. I must have done something different that morning. Maybe it dropped to the floor. Maybe I left it on the nightstand after chewing some middle-of-the-night Tums. Maybe I had it on when I went to the kitchen for my coffee and left it on the countertop. Scoured those places and it wasn’t there.
Panicky, I decided to go through the vanity drawers, removing everything from a drawer and cleaning it. I was cleaning the second drawer, placing its contents on the countertop, when I glanced up at the bathroom mirror and saw the guard in the reflection lurking behind the cat’s water dish. At least I have two clean vanity drawers. I was relieved that I found it because the only place left to look was the trash – UGH!
I lose my glasses a lot. Since I don’t need them to see close up, I’ll remove them to read or when I'm sitting at the table with friends. Unlike my retainer, which I only use in the bathroom, my glasses could be anywhere. Left on a tabletop, in a pocket, in my purse, on my head, or beside me on a chair. Sometimes I don’t find the pair I’m looking for for several days. Fortunately, I have several pairs of glasses. Hubby says I need to wear Croakies, but I think I’d look like an old-fashioned granny. Besides, he doesn’t wear Croakies on his sunglasses. I’ll say no more.
One year my keys were lost for weeks. I rummaged through every pocket, every purse, every closet several times. I found them a month later when taking down the Christmas tree. They were in the ornament box. Don’t ask me how they got there. I have no idea why I had my wristband with my keys on when I was decorating the tree. It’s one of life’s mysteries.
Speaking of Christmas, I’ve lost the bright red 20” sofa pillow covers for Christmas. How do you lose 20” bright red pillow covers? You think large, bright objects would jump right out at you. I’ve emptied closets and Christmas Décor boxes. I’ve only one box left to search – my fancy ornament box. I looked at the top of the box and they weren’t there. I didn’t feel like emptying it ornament by ornament to find them. Maybe I should look in the refrigerator. Or wait until next year.
My “I” devices have a “find my” feature, it can’t pinpoint the exact room. The feature only tells me if it's in my apartment or some other location. At least I don’t have to travel to every grocery, restaurant, or friend's house I’ve been in the last day to find the device. Our keys have an Orbit finder fob, but like the “Find My” app, it can only tell me if they are in the apartment or not. Ok, readers, I realize it will ping you, but that only works if you have the sound on and the device isn't in your purse.
It’s scary to think those “Find My” features know where I am at all times as long as I have one of those devices with me. Big Brother is watching us!
It’s so frustrating to lose things, especially things you had in your hands moments ago. Our apartment isn’t that big. And we’ve downsized. My friends and I lament, “How could I lose something in this small apartment?”
Maybe a moment of inattention or perhaps trying to multitask – leaving something in your hand when you do something else. Keeping the clicker in my hand when I went to get a drink instead of leaving it on the end table. Keeping my scrunchy with my keys on my wrist when I decorated the tree (that is puzzling). Taking my glasses off for a moment to read something.
Last year I said I didn’t do resolutions. This year I resolve to put one thing away before I start something anew. I’ll abide by the rule, "A place for everything and everything in its place.” Here's hoping I'll be reporting back next year with a clean track record and those darn pillow covers in hand. Wish me luck!
Happy New Year
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