Lost and Found

Over the 2-3 weeks, we have lost a lot of things at our house:
~A specialty wrench
~Some keys
~Brian's favorite pen
~Camera (Aargh!  Just Aargh!)
~Library movie  (I would NOT like to buy a library movie.)
~Costco rebate check (What a bummer to lose money!)
~Lightning McQueen (Camden sleeps with him every night.)

What was so frustrating was that the wrench, camera, movie, check, and McQueen had all been placed in either the correct place where it belongs, or in another really good place.  Not one of those places that you think will be good, either.   The camera was on a desk ready to go out the door.  The rebate check was in a pocket of my bag that is difficult for boys to play in.  McQueen was in Camden's sweatshirt pocket one minute, and a little later, no McQueen.  We searched and searched for the camera.  We searched inside and out for McQueen, and for the rebate check.  We even looked in the car--every pocket and cubby.  We looked in toy boxes, refrigerator, pantry, under sinks, in bookshelves--every where!

On Friday and Saturday morning, I was feeling quite discouraged.  I know that having a sick family for a week and being sick myself didn't help, but I just felt so frustrated about all the lost things. 

Have you ever read Fablehaven?  In it, there are some little "Brownies" that help in the house.  They are usually helpful and can fix anything that's broken.  They can also make delicious food.  But in one part of the story, they turn bad for a time and cause all sorts of trouble.  I felt like there were some evil little brownies hiding all these things.

~On Saturday morning, Brian was cleaning out his tool box.  Camden came walking into the front room holding the wrench!  The black wrench had fallen all the way to the bottom and blended into the bottom of the black tool box. 
~Later, Brian found his pen--I'm not sure where it was, but it's not lost anymore.
~Camera still missing.  I suspect our little Nate threw it away.   
~The library movie had fallen behind the couch.
~Lightning McQueen is still missing.  But, Camden found $2 from his bank and we bought the very last Lightning McQueen from the store.  He was so proud of himself and his quarters while he gave them to the cashier!
~The keys were for and HOA shed.  I borrowed a spare and made several copies.  Then I found my original set behind my bed.  
~And, the Costco check....   We had to go back on Monday, and the pharmacy cashiers couldn't make the card work.  The front end cashiers also had a problem.  Brian asked what the specific problem was, and they said that code was usually reserved for when something is waiting at the customer service desk for the customer.  So, off to the desk we went.  And, our check was there! 

I have thought lots about these "lost and found" experiences, but mostly I feel very grateful that we could find most of the things we had lost. I am not going crazy, nor do we have evil Brownies playing tricks on us.  (We may have one adorable Brownie who hides things, though!)