Confession time. I tend to lose things. Like ALOT. It’s not really that they’re “LOST”, it’s more that I KNOW, I mean I. KNOW. I put something down somewhere, and just over time I have forgotten where I put it.
It’s like your home filing cabinet. Where do you put your gas bill? Under “HOME?” Under the word “GAS”? Under the name of your local “GAS” company? That’s exactly this. Interestingly enough, I'm an organized person, so I know I put it somewhere. But where could it be? Retracing steps sometimes works, because of course, it was put away intentionally so I wouldn’t forget it somewhere else. A lot of good that did. And what did I keep on doing? Searching the SAME place over, and over again — because that’s what smart people do, right? Repeat and repeat (without a change) hopeful for a different outcome.
Super emotionally charged, super anxious and super nervous that it will never show up, what do I do? I go ask my friends, “Have you ever lost a piece of jewelry? Where’d you end up finding it?” Ready for these great stories?
About 20 years ago, my friend Lisa (no relation to me, of course) had received a ring from her grandmother, it was too large. But because it was so sentimental she wore it anyway, with tape around the back. One day, while driving, her windshield fogged up. She took out a rag to wipe it down and accidentally pulled the ring off and the ring fell into the ducts in the car! With each turn, she could hear it sliding around the inner workings of the car; as irritating as nails on a chalkboard. A trip to the mechanic, 10 minutes later (and of course a few hundred dollars) the heirloom was safely retrieved. My first stop — the jeweler to get it sized! (oh ya, that was about me!!)
But here’s a great story — not mine this time! When my friend Julie was engaged she lost her stunning diamond ring. It was the Holiday season. Winter was alive and well; it was heavily snowing. Leaving the mall after a shopping excursion, she zipped up her coat, put on her winter gloves and made the trek to through the snow-covered lot to her car. Removing her gloves to fish out her keys, she didn’t realize that her ring had slipped off. She then loaded her bags in the trunk, started the car and drove home. The moment she arrived home, she realized that her ring was no longer on her finger. Searching every inch of the car, repeatedly gradually increased her panic. When she couldn’t find it, she realized that it must have fallen off when she removed her gloves. Which could only mean - it was in the snow!
In a state, she drove the 15 minutes back to the mall sweating - even in the below zero temperatures! By then the snow was falling in heavy sheets, visibility was poor and snowplows were out. She went back to her exact parking spot, but was frantic. How would she find it with the snow? Calling her fiancé in a panic, he had a great suggestion: Back the car up toward the mound and let the warmth from the exhaust melt the snow. When mall security saw what she was doing, they pitched in adding some more effort and heat to the mix. About an hour later, with a big puddle forming in the lot, Julie’s ring was found glittering in the melted mess! Relief!!
How a Fidget Spinner Ring Can Help you Find your lost Item
I would like to start with an important piece of advice before beginning your search. The first thing you must do, is take a few DEEP breaths. If you have a fidget spinner ring, give a few twirls of that ring to help focus and minimize the worry. Once you're a bit calmer, and the meditative effects and the power of spinning have kicked in, you're ready to begin searching with a clear mind and positive outlook.
Now that you're a bit more calm, let's go over some of the obvious (and no so obvious) locations your lost bauble could be...have you checked:
Places To Look
So it got me thinking.....I needed some strategies when I would misplace things; because it was only a few days ago that I couldn't find my keys!! When I was calm, I thought of a list of strategies to find those small missing objects. Beginning with deep breathing — because the more I got anxious, the less my brain was functioning logically. Then, I methodically checked these places:
Behind my dresser
Under my bed
Inside the vacuum bag
In the fridge
In the glove box
In my gym bag?
In the dryer — could it be in the dryer filter? Or washing machine? In my laundry basket?
In a flower pot
In my toolbox
No luck. So here were a few more….
In my mailbox
Under all my couches (could it have fallen behind the cushions?)
In my “junk” drawer
In my shoe bin
Although I don’t have a pet, I was prepared to look through dog poop if necessary!!
And then, I had a revelation, I remembered placing my key ring into it into my purse after using some caustic substance at work. Of course, I had already dumped out the purse 3000 times, to no avail, but now, with a calmer and cooler head I searched again.
This time, I discovered a tear in the lining, and guess what. The keys were there.
The earth now can continue to rotate. My fingers now have feeling and my heart rate is getting back to normal.
Brave enough to share your lost and found stories?