Lost.......

I am always losing things. It is not unual for me to misplace an item over and over again.  Before I had cars that had key pads, I would misplace my keys all the time.  I could spend hours hunting for them and tearing my house and purses apart only to find them underneath the seat of my car or on top of a shelf somewhere.

I have lost my ID so many times that I use to have two just so I would have a backup.  My phone is constantly lost, yes my phone.  During the Fall I have this habit of sticking it in my boots so that I do not have to carry a purse and will forget over and over again it's in there.  Just recently I thought my phone had been stolen from a place I was having lunch.  I was SURE I knew who picked it up and took it.  I went into the AT&T store to shut the phone off and report it stolen only to feel the phone slide down my leg further into my boot.

When my littles were little I would leave anything and everything around for them.  Binkis would be lost, bottles left on top of cars as I drove away, entire diaper bags left in a store in the dressing room after changing their diapers.  Coats have been left hanging in bathrooms and I can not tell you how many times I have lost my wallet when being out.  My hubby use to joke with me that when we would leave somewhere we had been together he would just quietly follow behind me and pick up everything I left. When I would realize I had left something I would turn around quickly to tell him I had to go back and he would be there smiling holding the item.  It's really a sickness of mine. 

When you realize you have lost something and you know you can not find it I think we all think about replacing it as soon as possible. Knowing that we can replace the lost item allows us to cope with the loss.  But is it really ever the same?  Sure you can go out and get another one, maybe it will be the same color or the same style or maybe it will be a different version of what you had and that may seem exiting to some.  A new and better version.  But will it every truly make you happy or will you always be thinking about the old one?  The old item will have memories attached to it, it's apart of who you are and how you got to be where you are today.  It may have had damage to it that you knew exactly where the damage came from and have a great story behind it.  It may have wear marks that only you know about but love because it was apart of your daily life.  New might be shinny and exciting but it can never take the place of your history, it can never be fully replaced and that can leave you with a forever sadness.

Instant gratification is a huge burden that I fight with daily.  I have to try and teach my kids that things are to be valued, cared for, taken care of and cherished.  Sure I could replace something that has been lost but the value and pride of keeping it and holding onto it goes a lot further than the gratification of going out and getting a new one.

Life is not meant to have things come so easily to us.  We are not meant to replace anything and everything just to feel better about ourselves.  It's a hard pattern not to fall into but I really feel like if we could all just slow down, hunt for that item we are missing and do everything we can to find it and bring it home.. we would all be a little bit happier.

~Mellie