Nothing Lost That Can't Be Found

There are few things more frustrating than looking for something you have lost. This frustration can become much more intense when the lost thing is something of great value or importance, and when the person who gave the lost thing to you is glaring at you as you look for it.

I, of course, speak from experience.

Yesterday, as I was making dough for pizza crusts, I took off my wedding ring and placed it on the very secure kitchen counter.

I do this every time I work with dough, since I strongly dislike picking clumps of flour and other goo from the little spokes that hold the diamonds in place. I think most married women do the same.

Normally I put my ring on top of our microwave, pasta holder, or some other "higher" surface, but yesterday I was cooking with Janae, helping Alaina with the potty at regular intervals, and breaking up fights between Janae and Alaina, Janae and Ben, Ben and Alaina . . . okay--the usual. Somehow, though, I ended up taking off my ring in a quick and disorderly fashion, and placing it on the counter with the rest of the clutter (or . . . essential cooking items that I had neatly lined up beside me).

Anyway, later when I was cleaning up, I realized that I still wasn't wearing my ring. My search became more and more frantic with each passing minute, until I finally announced that the ring was lost.

Jason was annoyed and started helping me look through drawers and cupboards, on the floor, in the garbage--anywhere it could have dropped or been taken.

"Why didn't you put it up high?" he asked.

Hmmm.

Now, I have to admit that this wasn't the first time I'd lost my ring. The other instance occurred in 2005 when I'd let my then one-year-old Benjamin play with it and he'd dropped it down his undershirt--not that we'd discovered this until after Jason (who was not only very mad on that occasion, too, but had also had the flu at the time) had taken apart our bed, dresser, and most of the upstairs of our old house (the story has become a family legend).

Anyway, I know that taking care of my ring is important, and I always try to do it, but . . . everyone makes mistakes sometimes, right?

So, we looked for the ring (on and off) for several hours. I knew it couldn't have disappeared, but telling Jason this didn't do anything to alleviate the glare that had taken over his face.

Finally, after many a silent prayer that my ring would be found (and my marriage saved), I went into the kitchen and once again stood at the counter where I'd made the cursed dough. As I re-envisioned the scene, the thought crossed my mind that I might have closed the ring up in with my cookbook.

I took the book out of the cupboard, let it fall open to my pizza recipe, and . . . found the ring!

 

 

Hallelujah!

Jason and I put the kids to bed, read a little bit, then went to sleep.

In the night, Janae woke up from a bad dream and called for Daddy. Jason got up, reached for his glasses, and--not being able to find them--staggered into the kids' room.

A few minutes later he came back to look again for the glasses. They were nowhere to be found. He turned on the light (waking up Alaina!), and did a more thorough search. By this time, I was involved, too (even though it was the middle of the night, you can be sure I somehow managed to maintain a cheerful and helpful disposition!). We looked on and in Jason's nightstand, beside and under the bed, in the blankets--even on the dressers. Like my wedding ring, the glasses seemed to simply be gone.

It was not until this morning, after another complete search of the room, that I spotted the glasses in the middle of the bed under Alaina's blanket.

 

We were relieved Jason would be able to take Ben to school, go to work, and walk across the room without bumping into anything.

So . . . after all this losing and finding, we have learned a few lessons:

1. Anyone can lose something; losing something is not a sign of not caring for things.
2. We should not treat people who lose things unkindly (they have feelings, too!)
3. It is less likely that someone without glasses can find their glasses than someone without a ring can find their ring.

and, my new favorite,

4. If we are ever looking for the KitchenAid attachments, keep this in mind:

 

Note: Please be assured that all photos used in this post were re-created for artistic purposes. When I found my ring I did not stop and take a picture before putting it safely back on my finger!