Lost & Found

Last week was a really intense week, no wonder things ended up getting lost. The one thing I lost and which cannot be easily replaced (for what I previously paid and can afford) is Linton's swim shirt or rash guard (with UV protection) which I'd found with much difficulty here and had bought using a coupon for 50% off. We last saw it at the park on Monday night when I helped him change into dry clothes. My mom bought a replacement today (here), but it's not as nice as the other one. We really need these shirts for our vacation in Brazil at the end of the year since we'll be spending lots of time in the water...

Here's the week in a nutshell: my sister-in-law and nephews had been visiting since the previous Friday and besides having to endure hanging out with four boys we went to a lake on Sunday (photo on right) and Sesame Place on Monday and Wednesday (Tuesday was needed as a break).

So I think that it was understandable that on Wednesday night, after a long day at the park with two young boys (3 and almost 5) plus their cousins and auntie (me), my sister-in-law didn't realize that she had left one of our bags (the bag was mine, but she was using it) behind in the parking lot when she drove off to pick us up (we got lost from them leaving the park again, the same as on Monday and only met them in the parking lot later). We only realized her mistake when we got home and began to unload the car. The worst part of it was not the little bit of cash we'd left in there or our driver's licenses (a big hassle, but replaceable), but the video camera and the camera with the photos (I'll share some of them later, the ones with Big Bird and Elmo are adorable ;-). We were really upset and could hardly sleep, so early the next morning SIL and I drove once more to the park, over an hour before its opening time (we just wished we'd managed to get there so early with four boys in the previous days!), to try to find it.On the way there I called security, which informed me that the bag had not been found! :-( We decided to go ask anyway and we proceeded to the customer service booth outside the entrance. The girl (it was really a young high school girl like every single person working at that park, save for some security guards) went and looked and said that the bag was not there. We then asked her to bring us the form for lost and found items (I'd already filled it on Wednesday reporting our lost shirt) and she left. We were there waiting and lamenting for the thousandth time the lost things and photos (my nephews' swim shirts would not be easily replaced either ;-) when we heard a voice behind us (to the side) saying: "Is it this one?"

We turned around and saw the girl who had opened a door to the side of the booths and there was our bag!! I was so happy I had to give her a hug while we thanked her. She said she'd looked at a different place. Phew! What a relief! We could hardly believe how lucky we were, given that we'd already given the bag up for lost and had lamented the oversight endlessly. We walked away giddily, taking photos, asking this girl to take a picture of us:What a relief! SIL even placed the bag in front of the park sign so we could record our great recovery:And now, to end the post "Elmo's World" style (imagine this in Elmo's annoying voice), I have a question for... you:

What have you lost and, perhaps, found (or not) that was a direct consequence of having so many things to worry about as a mother out and about with your kids?