Earrings, Part II

the lights of Los Angeles

It's been a few years since I last wrote about my tendency to tuck things away in safe places. Very safe places. Places so safe even I can't find them.

As my memory develops small gaps about where I've put things down, I have become more compulsive about making sure I put things somewhere safe when I leave them anywhere but where they belong. (I am now able to lose things without moving from my chair - a whole new level of accomplishment for me!)

I'd brought a couple pair of earrings with me on my trip to California last month. While there, I staked out a spot on the table where I was working to keep them safe when they weren't installed in my ears. Quite proud of myself when it came time to pack for home, I was able to quickly locate all of the jewelry I'd brought with me.

But then, I forgot to put them in the little traveling jewelry case I carry with me. By the time I figured out my mistake, it was buried in the depths of my suitcase. I didn't want to unpack the whole shebang just to put the earrings where they belonged, so I put them somewhere safe. (you see where this is leading, I'm sure...)

I made it home with all my luggage intact, unpacked, and worked myself back into the routine of home. I completely forgot about the stashed earrings until last Thursday, when I decided they were the perfect pair to match my mood-of-the-day. I reached into the box where they are supposed to live, and found an empty space where their cheerful blue lines should have been glinting up at me.

**sigh** Where had they gone? Since they were both missing, it limited the places I would have to search. I began with my workout bag; the first logical choice, but they weren't there. Nor were they in my desk at work, which is the other place I put them when I go down to work out. They weren't forgotten in the little travel case, they weren't next to my bed. **heavy sigh**

Yesterday, I finally had a bit of time, and started unzipping every compartment of every bag I'd touched since my trip. Nope, nope, nope. Tears of frustration started to gather as I checked my large toiletry bag; the last place I knew to look. Nope, they weren't there either. *Argh!* I grabbed a kleenex I'd tucked into the last compartment I'd checked, determined to keep looking until I found where I'd tucked them. They had to be somewhere!!! I unfolded the tissue to wipe my eyes, and there, from the folds, fell my earrings.

I'd wrapped them in the tissue to keep them safe, so the posts wouldn't get bent as the bag went through the mistreatment it was sure to get in the aircraft hold.

Tears forgotten, I put them in my ears, feeling a bit smug. I'd managed to both keep them safe AND find them again.

I'll take my accomplishments where I can find them, thank you very much.