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Friday 2 June 2017

Lost & Found; Known & Unknown

I'm not generally a careless person, but I've lost my purse three times in the last seven months.

It's a small, black zippered purse - some might call it a change purse - just big enough for all the plastic cards one carries these days and a bit of "real" money. In other words, enough important stuff that losing it causes me to panic and run around wildly looking at the ground and thinking about how stupid I am and how I might be losing my mind and how if I find it (my purse, not my mind) I will always always always carry it inside a larger purse that shall be zipped up securely while I walk to and fro in my daily trips to the car, to work, to the grocery store, etc., etc.

The problem is that I pinched a nerve in my purse-carrying shoulder a decade back, and although I take my large purse to the store, I don't take it IN the store. And my current so-called large purse was bought before I started carrying my camera everywhere, so it's kind of full, and my little purse often is the last thing crammed in there. You can see the potential for trouble from a mile away, can't you?

The first time I lost my dear little purse was in a department store forty minutes from home. I was buying a lot of stuff which I was holding in my arms because I started out looking for one thing and ended up with a dozen things and no cart to put them in, and somewhere in the process my little purse dropped out of my grasp, which I didn't notice because I was clutching a pack of socks and it felt the same. An honest employee turned it in within fifteen minutes and I thanked everyone there plus my lucky stars that I wasn't facing an evening of calls to report lost cards of every description. What relief! I promised myself I'd be extra careful in future.

The second time my little friend and I parted company, it eventually turned up under the front passenger seat of my car, where it had landed after I chucked it into my large purse and it bounced out. This unnerved me even more than the first time, and I decided I'd be extra-extra careful in future.

This week I lost my %&*# purse again, and once again found it in the car, right beside the driver's seat, where it had fallen as I was getting in. Between the losing and the finding I drove around town, back to work, up and down the stairs twice, and back home, where I finally calmed down enough to see the little scallywag perched on the bottom edge of the door frame where it had sat laughing at me, I'm sure, while I got in and out, in and out, in and out of the car.

So I made a different vow. Because how many times can one lose one's lifeline to modern banking, driving, health care, health insurance, and store discounts before one does something more drastic (and effective) than making pinky-swear promises to oneself that one clearly cannot keep?

The answer, if you've dozed off and lost track, is three times, if you're me.

I drove straight to a store which sells large purses to buy a new one, one that is big enough to hold my little purse and my camera and a few other odds and ends comfortably, so that my little purse will not always be perched precariously on top of everything else, ready to jump out at the slightest jiggle or mischievous purse-notion.

(Full disclosure: I didn't end up buying a new large purse because none of them met my somewhat conflicting criteria of being large but light. Instead, I'm digging an old purse out of the closet tonight. It may be shabby but at least my precious plastic will be safe. Side note: what has the world come to that we value plastic rectangles so highly??)

And an update on my mom: she seems to be pretty much back to where she was before she fell ill. But in the course of prolonged visits with her while she was recovering, I have discovered that her pre-illness mental processing may not have been as robust as I thought. So I am wrestling with the known and the unknown in that regard.

But you know what? My mother hasn't once lost her purse. Food for thought, eh?


This is how happy I've been, going along dum-de-dum, not thinking too much about age and senility sneaking up on me (my own or my mom's) just like that cat in the back is sneaking up on the dog; a cat who, incidentally, looks exactly like our kitty #3, the one that bites at the least provocation. I wonder if she was a cat model in her life before us?? In any case, that dog and I are probably in for a big ol' butt-kicking in the not too distant future.


Thanks for reading! I hope your weekend gives your butt a nice soft cushy place to land, and not the butt-kicking referred to above :)


I would give credit for the photo but I can't remember where I found it. If it belongs to you and you want me to remove it, I will gladly do so, with apologies.

31 comments:

Elephant's Child said...

Aaaaargh.
I am so very sorry to read this. On so many levels. Familiar, and scary.
On a lighter note? I do love that evil cat. Jazz effects the nonchalent look until the moment he shreds me, but that cat looks just the way he behaves.
Hugs.

Steve Reed said...

Well, the larger purse sounds like a good solution. Thank goodness you found it after the third loss! I thought the upshot was going to be that this time it was gone for good.

Yorkshire Pudding said...

%&*# are great purse designers aren't they? It's not a purse you need now, it is a stylish bun bag that you can tie around your slender waist. There your money and cards can reside happily along with your face powder, loaded revolver and emergency toothbrush.

Red said...

You describe this series of events with good humor. I lost my wallet a few years ago. I knew it had to be in the car but I couldn't find it. The more panic, the worse the situation becomes.

only slightly confused said...

I got the tiniest lightest cross body bag I could find and I still find it toomuch but I have to have something I can string across myself because otherwise.....I WOULD LOSE MY PURSE. Yes, I have done it. Makes you feel like a right eejit doesn't it?

Jono said...

If I can wear something (like on my belt) I won't lose it. Everything else is up for grabs.

jenny_o said...

Aaaargh covers it nicely, doesn't it? :)

Our cat narrows her eyes just like the one in the picture. At least we get some warning. Too bad Jazz doesn't give you something to work with!

Hug to you, too, and thank you.

jenny_o said...

Hugs, plural :)

jenny_o said...

Me, too. I am a slow learner, it seems :)

jenny_o said...

I'm laughing aloud even as I wonder when and how you checked out the contents of my purse ...

jenny_o said...

You're so right - the panic is the worst. I might as well have been blind for all the good my looking around was doing!

jenny_o said...

I'm one of "those" people now who not only lose it, but lose it THREE TIMES, Delores!! But I'm glad I'm not the only one to do it at least once :)

jenny_o said...

I was doing so well until this started :) I'm glad I'm not the only one.

37paddington said...

Actually, the solution to this dilemma for me was a small light bag that zips up, and has shoulder length straps, and is just big enough to hold my purse and maybe another thing, like my cell phone. That way my purse is not always in my hands, but nor am I aggravating my poor shoulder with the weight of a heavy bag. And yes, I have experienced this very thing. Glad to hear your mom is on the mend. As for the mental processing, I'm sure you'll assess what's needed.

dinthebeast said...

Many of my friends have had an awful time losing their keys. One woman I know managed to lose ten sets of them in four months. I don't have very many keys any more, but the ones I have are on a ring clipped to a chain which is clipped to my belt-loop, so I'd have to lose my pants to lose my keys. And if I've lost my pants, I probably have larger, more pressing problems than the location of my keys...

-Doug in Oakland

Janie Junebug said...

I lost my car key recently. I shopped at Target and went to my car with my purchases and couldn't find the key in my bag. The clicker that unlocks the doors that is broken and hasn't worked in years somehow miraculously worked so I could get inside to check the car for the key. It wasn't there. I went back inside the store and asked about my key at customer service. It hadn't been turned in. I sat down on a bench and took everything out of my bag. It definitely wasn't there. I walked back to my car, trying to re-trace my steps, as I looked at the ground. I couldn't find it. Then I walked in a circle around the car. Voila! It was on the ground in front of the car. When I attempted to put it in my bag, I must have dropped it and didn't hear it hit the ground. I was very proud because I didn't cry while I was searching for the key. I had no one to rescue me if I couldn't find it because my son couldn't get to me. I hate losing things. I'm now very careful to make sure the keys actually make their way to the interior of my bag.

Love,
Janie

Mr. Shife said...

Glad it all ended well. I can definitely relate as there's a whole lot of panic and anxiety until you find your missing purse or wallet in my case. Have a good weekend too.

Yorkshire Pudding said...

See that built-in camera on your computer Jenny? I can secretly activate it.

Martha said...

Is it terrible that I laughed throughout this post? Not a mean, belittling kind of laugh. More of a "I love your sense of humour" type. Because you are funny. At the same time, I am so sorry you've gone through this. Can you get a little, light purse that you can wear over your neck and under one arm? I do this when I go out for the day on road trips or long walks or bike rides to feel secure that I won't lose the bag and all its contents.

jenny_o said...

I'm thinking maybe two purses, one large and one like you describe. The big one can go to work with me and the little one can go shopping. Maybe the little one can even fit in the big one! So many choices. I may never decide ... but I don't want to lose the dang tiny purse again.

jenny_o said...

Ten sets of keys in four months must be some kind of record, and even if it's not, it sure makes me feel better :)

I laughed at your pants comment; you're totally right!

jenny_o said...

It really makes the day go downhill in a big way, doesn't it? I was proud that I didn't cry, too, but I was close :)

jenny_o said...

Our whole lives are pretty much in that little leather case, aren't they? No wonder we worry when they go missing.

Thanks, Mr. S :)

jenny_o said...

Not terrible at all - I laughed at myself ... a few hours later (it took that long to get over the panic). I'm now thinking TWO purses are needed (see my reply to 37paddington, above) and each will have its function. This calls for a shopping trip - heaven forbid I drop my little purse while I'm gone :)

jenny_o said...

Dang it, YP, now I'm going to have to find a new place to put on my face powder, load my revolver, and brush my teeth - way to spoil a good routine!

e said...

I echo Martha and know your pain...I keep my stuff in a small hanging zippered sack attached to the front of my chair cushion...one of my favorite friends refers to this as Elizabeth's scrotum jokingly...

jenny_o said...

LOL! But your stuff is handy, so you get the last laugh!!

Geo. said...

Excellent cautionary post, Jenny. I have never lost my wallet, but lately that hasn't helped. Ever since they issued new credit cards with a chip on one end, that must be inserted instead of swiped, I've been chased down several times by clerks and angels calling, "Sir, you left your card in the machine!" Maybe I should wear it on a lanyard --but I'd probably just drag the countertop EMV reader off by my neck.

jenny_o said...

I can picture it now -- and feel the pain in the neck that would ensue. Maybe you could wear it on one of those plastic expandable bracelets (like a telephone cord coil). When you removed your hand, the card would come with it. On the other hand, wearing a credit card in plain sight might open one up to mugging, and we don't want that.

I love the phrase "clerks and angels" ... I felt the same toward the store employee who turned in my little purse.

baili said...

You made me quite difficult to decide that should I feel sorry for your living little purse or laugh on your humorous way of writing "food for thought so I am doing both exquisitely.
I lost my vallet thrice in previous three decades and each had a story behind it.
I am amazed with you obsessive love for your little black purse Jenney! But glad that you decided to stay with your old love as I myself am an old-fashioned about making such choices.
I am glad your dear mom is feeling fine now and you are enjoying your normal routine

jenny_o said...

My purse seems to have a mind of its own :)

Will you be blogging about your purse losses someday? I would be interested!

Thank you for your kind words - I also enjoy your writing as you express yourself very creatively and bring your stories to life on the page!