One crazy day

Today I had one rollercoaster of a day. The fun started at around noon when I discovered my wallet was missing from my purse. There's nothing like that wave of panic that rolls through you when you realized your wallet is gone. I pretty much think that when you lose your wallet, you might as well pack up and start a new life elsewhere...it's that traumatic.

There have been several purses and wallets stolen in our building of late. My office complex is on a busy public street and people can just walk in without attracting much attention. I keep my purse in the bottom drawer of my file cabinet and although I don't lock it during the day, there are a lot of people in my particular office space and I have my own office with a door, so I didn't think I was a prime candidate for a purse thief.

Anyway, when I discovered my wallet was gone, I asked around the office if anyone had seen anything. We had several people out today and while I was at a meeting, the office was unoccupied for a short time. So there was certainly an opportunity for a fast robbery. Before calling the cops, I ran out to my car to make sure the wallet hadn't fallen out of my purse in the car, and even dashed home to see if I left it on the counter or something when I got Emma's lunch money out. But it was nowhere to be found.

So I went back to office pretty much in tears over the awful mess waiting for me. I called the campus police and they came over and I filed a report (like that would help in a case like this.) Then I called the bank and credit card companies to cancel my cards. I asked my boss if I could have tomorrow morning off to go to the DMV to get a new driver's license. Then you start to make a list of all the things that were in the wallet to be replaced...insurance cards, AAA membership card, etc. Then you wail over the little stuff like photos you'll never see again. Not to mention the $50 bill I've had tucked away in my wallet for the past five years, just in case of an emergency. It was so demoralizing, but you just have to take a deep breath and tackle one thing at a time.

I had to leave work early because Emma had a dentist appointment. So I drove to her school (without a license, which makes me a nervous wreck) to pick her up. When I got to her classroom, Emma ran to me and threw her arms around me. Then she looked up at me with her sweet little face and said "Mommy, why did you put your wallet in my backpack this morning?"

I didn't know whether to jump for joy or burst into tears! I guess when I got her lunch money out this morning, for some unfathomable reason, I put my wallet in her backpack instead of my purse. I'm not a scatterbrained person...REALLY! It was just one of those total spaceouts - either that or I'm really getting old and my brain cells are dying off at an alarming rate.

Anyway, I was so overjoyed to be reunited with my wallet that I didn't even faint when Emma's dentist told me after her appointment that Emma would definitely need orthodontia and would probably have to be fitted with a palate expander in a couple of years.

I just hope tomorrow brings no surprises...I don't think my heart can take it!