My Keys ~ Reunited and it feels so good!

     The world is full of so many wonderful people, and I have had the fortunate experience of running into several of these kind souls. I'm not sure what my problem is, but I lose things...often. I can't count how many times I have accidentally put down my purse, keys, phone, or a credit card. Amazingly, every single time that I have left one of these items behind, someone has been kind and honest enough to turn it in.

Jilla's Keys - If you happen to find these somewhere, please let me know. 

     About two weeks ago, I had to make a quick stop at Sam's Club to pick up some items for a little Christmas party at my school. Sometimes the greeter will ask to see my membership card when I enter, so I try to have it out so I'm not having to dig for it at the door. Because I have a Sam's credit card, my card also serves as my membership card. Anyway, after showing it to the greeter, I failed to put it in my purse, and instead I just carried it throughout the store until at some point I put it down. As I hurried getting the things I needed, I realized that it was getting late. I called Devon to let him know that I would be cutting it close, but I would be able to pick up the boys. When I made it to the register, I realized I didn't have my card anymore. I searched my pockets and purse, but no card. In my head I tried to retrace my path through the store, but I couldn't remember where I might have put it down. Due to my shortage of time and needing to get to the boys, I found a team member on the floor, and asked if he would be able to radio the customer service desk to see if anyone had found my card. While I was explaining my issue to the gentleman, a nice lady in a Texans shirt overheard me, and she said "I just turned in a card to the customer service desk. I found it back in the bakery section." I really wanted to run up to her, pick her up, and squeeze her!! I thanked her, and made my way up to the front of the store to retrieve my card. Once I had checked out and was on my way to get the boys, I thought about how wonderful lady this was. Not only was she honest enough to turn in my card, she made it a point to stop her shopping and go to turn it before she herself had even finished. If I had more time, I would have tried to find her again to tell her how awesome she was. I was so grateful, I would have gladly bought her a gift card or paid for her purchase. Who in their right mind lays a credit card down?!

Nice people shop at the Pearland Sam's Club

     A few nights ago my sister and I went shopping. I typically keep my phone in my pocket or in my purse, but sometimes I carry it around. This is a dangerous habit for me given my history of absentmindedly just putting things down! Anyway, I finished checking out, and my sister and I were walking out of the store when I heard someone yelling, "Maam, maam...your phone!" Even though the lines were long, this Kohl's associate stopped what she was doing to chase me down. I appreciate her effort to get it back to me. Even if she wasn't going to keep it, she could have passively let me leave, figure out later that I had left my phone somewhere, and left it up to me to come back to get it. What a nice lady!
     A few months ago at this same Kohl's, I guess I must have put down my keys, phone and coupons while trying on clothes. Once I realized I had lost my keys, I tried to retrace my path through the store. After not finding my keys, I went to the service desk and found out that not only had my keys been turned in, but also my phone and coupon that I laid down! I didn't even realize I had lost my phone, but I sure was grateful someone was kind enough to turn it all in. My Mom was with me that day and rightfully, she gave me a loving hard time about losing my keys. She made me give her my keys until we finished shopping. I promised her I would do a better job of hanging on to my keys! Once we finished shopping, I took her home and headed back to DSW to look for a new pair of boots. Somehow while trying on shoes, I put my keys and phone on top of a column of boxes and walked off. A few minutes later, one of the employees who had seen me over by the boots came and found me in a different section to ask me if those were my keys and my phone. I felt like such a dork!! Two times in one day. Don't tell my Mom! If my keys and phone could talk, they would speak of abandonment issues I'm sure.

Thank you Kohl's Employees ~ You Rock!

     I have a bad habit of using my spare key. I have one set of keys that has a Texas Tech keychain and all of my keys (i.e., house key, car key, etc.), and then I have a spare key. As you might imagine, I misplace my keys within our house often. I have a hook right by the door to help assist me, but for whatever reason, I have not been able to train myself to use it consistently. Anyway, I realized on Thanksgiving Day when it was time to head to my parents' house for lunch that I could not find my keys. I looked everywhere, but it was getting later and later, and I couldn't find them. Finally, my sister sent me a text saying "Mom would like to know an ETA." That was a gentle reminder that it was time to get moving, so I grabbed my spare key, and we were on our way. When I came back home, I looked everywhere I could think of...in my car, kitchen, under the couch, but no keys. Out of desperation, I even offered Ian a $5 finder's fee if he could locate my keys.  I continued looking yesterday and today, and then I tried calling all of the places that I remembered recently visiting because I was afraid maybe I had gone somewhere with both sets of keys enabling me to leave one set behind. Since I couldn't even remember when I had last used my regular set of keys, my Mom suggested tonight that I try calling Krogers which I had visited a few days ago. When I called, the man who answered was very nice, but he sounded a little flustered. He said their customer service desk was already closed, but that he would try to find someone working in the back to see if anyone had turned in any keys. After waiting a few minutes, a lady answered asking what kind of keys I had lost. I told her there were several keys with a Honda key and a Texas Tech keychain. She said, "Yep, a set of Honda keys was turned in." I was so relieved! We headed to Krogers, and I walked in full of happy endorphins ready to reclaim my keys! I found an employee to help me, and she seemed happy that she would be returning my keys to me. She unlocked a drawer, and said "You said Honda. Here you go!" Unfortunately, it was a key to someone else's Honda. I thanked her for her help, but told her those weren't my keys. While I was disappointed those were not my keys, I was secretly happy to know that I am not the only crazy cat who leaves their keys laying around. Anyway, I walked back out to the car where Devon and the boys were waiting. Sweet Devon tried to reassure me that I would find them, and that he would help me.
     As soon as we got home and I walked in the door, I had a flashback from Wednesday. I had taken the boys to see Big Hero 6, which I highly recommend, and when I got home I was carrying lots of things into the house. Matthew had spilled some drink on him at the movies, so my mind was thinking about getting him changed. We were also expecting a surprise delivery for the boys and the driver had called me to tell me they would be coming to the house in about 10 minutes, so I was trying to quickly get Ian and Matthew engaged doing something, so they would be distracted when their new swing set arrived. Anyway, in the flurry of activity, I put several things down on top of a chest of drawers near our entry. In my search the past few days, I had looked everywhere, including there, but there was a bag of snacks sitting on top of them so I hadn't seen them. While this time I ended up finding my keys at home, I appreciated the efforts of individuals at Wendy's, Cinemark, and Krogers who genuinely tried to help me find my keys. I generally don't make New Year's resolutions, but I really am going to try to misplace fewer items in 2015!

Big Hero 6 - Great movie! I might need my own Baymax. 

     In summary, I rarely go longer than a few weeks without misplacing something. I like to think that my absentmindedness is a result of a concussion from my accident because I really don't remember losing so many items earlier in my life, but maybe I just blocked out the memories. :) This trait of mine does help me be a more empathetic Mom, teacher and counselor when working with students and my own little guys. When students come in and tell me they have misplaced something, I completely understand because who am I to judge someone misplacing something!! I do want to reassure everyone that while I do lose items often, I have never lost one of my children! They are loud and they seem to like me, so they never stray very far.  I guess above everything, these experiences and others are constant reminders to me of how many wonderful people there are who will drop what they are doing to practice a random act of kindness for a stranger. My sample size is relatively small, but my experiences with others is overwhelmingly positive and for that, I am very thankful. I'm also convinced that my guardian angel stays very busy.