Have You Seen My…

When I was young, I lost mittens and gloves constantly, which is not a good thing when you grow up in South Dakota and have to walk twenty miles, one way, through the snow, to school. (OK, so it was more like half a mile, but we did have to come home for lunch, so really, two miles a day.) I learned early the value of always getting mittens or gloves two or three pairs at a time, all the same color and design, and almost always carrying a spare pair.

Later on, it was socks. You know all the jokes about dryers eating socks. I just wish they’d eat pairs at a time. In much the same way, I learned to buy workout socks in particular three or even six pairs at a time, always the same style and color.

These days, however, it’s reading glasses I lose. I never seem to have a pair when I need them, no matter how careful I am. Hence, I have become at work one of those old ladies who wears a set on a string around my neck. I also have a spare in my desk there. And on my desk at home, I usually have two pairs–until I misplace one and have to start all over again at the dollar store or CVS or the warehouse club or, my absolute final option, Target, because strangely, the reading glasses there are super-expensive.

Today, however, the swallows returned to San Juan Capistrano. Or, shall I say, the reading glasses returned from their hiding places. One pair surfaced when my sister vacuumed the couch’s nooks and crannies. Another pair appeared, unbroken, from deep in the driver’s seat when I cleaned the car. A third showed up under the hanging folders on my desk. A fourth was uncovered in the kitchen.

I now have five, count ’em five, pairs here in my home office, which is four more than I thought I had. Sweet! That ought to get me through… I don’t know, maybe the next week if I’m lucky.

And now, if you’ll excuse me, while luck is with me, I’m going to see if I can find some socks.