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I’ve been losing things lately. It’s gotten so bad that Rose has increased the volume of her complaining just so she won’t be locked in a closet and forgotten. I don’t like to lose things, especially now that I’m in my 70s and there is always that lurking fear that I might just be losing my mind along with all the other stuff. I don’t think that’s the case but one does have to consider it.

This misplacement of objects started a couple of weeks ago. I went looking for my iPad so I could take a picture of the at-that-moment adorable cats as they slept bum-to-nose on the bed. I went to the bookcase where I usually keep the iPad but it wasn’t there. There wasn’t much of anything else there either since I’ve been purging my life of books and papers and momentoes that usually occupy space on that bookshelf. But I still looked multiple times thinking that surely it had to be there. But it wasn’t anywhere to be seen. I started wondering if, in this more chaotic atmosphere in this apartment, I had, mistakenly packed up the iPad with those books going to charity. It would have been an honourable thing to do but not one I would have willingly done at this particular point.

Then, a few days later, I had gone shopping to pick up a few things. I can’t buy very much at one time these days since Hazel, now residing in my chest, needs three more weeks to get settled and will not tolerate being pulled around by a heavy bag. The means that I have to limit my loads to no more than 5 pounds at any one time. It’s really amazing to me how little that is. I’m used to taking my big backpack to the store and filling it up. None of that stuff right now. Hazel would  howl with pain if I put that strap right on top of her. So I carry my smallest tote so I’m not tempted to pick up just one more thing. I have even started to ask the clerks to weigh things for me but I have found out that most times I, and Hazel, have a much more accurate idea of the weight of my bag than their calculations.

So, on the day of my purchases which happened to be Senior’s Day I just bought three things at the store: a nail clipper, hand lotion and a bottle of pills whose nature is a little too delicate for this blog. Well, it was the latter that went missing. I looked everywhere for it since I was in need of its contents. But it was nowhere to be found. I thought maybe I had left it on the counter but that didn’t seem possible since the clerk was very attentive to my needs, especially confirming my senior status and giving me my 20% discount. Was I, too, more interested in saving $4 than making sure I packed everything into my little tote? But, really, just because I’m buying things on senior’s day does not mean I was having a senior’s moment and never bought the pills in the first place. Of course, I couldn’t find the receipt to dismiss that doubt. It took another few days before I found the pills right where they should have been. Did I not look there to begin with? Who knows?

The iPad took even longer to surface. It wasn’t until today, when I decided to finally deal with the pile of clothes that had been accumulating in the rocking chair waiting to be ironed. They would most likely still be there if I had had anything else to wear this week. As I ironed my way down, I found, at the bottom of the pile, my iPad. I’m blaming the cats for it being there since I’m sure I had brought it upstairs to take a picture of them and just forgot where I put it. They’re not buying that explanation and neither am I. Then, just to punish me more for my negligence in keeping my iPad safe, I opened it up and Siri, that annoying feature, wanted to know how she could help me. Since I had already found the iPad, I ignored her. And ignored her again and again. Finally, I shouted, “Go Away.” She responded by saying, “Goodbye would have been more polite.” It was too much.

So there we have it two things found — none still missing. That’s not a bad way to start this new week. But, I think it’s probably a very good thing that I’m also starting a Mindfulness Meditation Course tomorrow. Surely, that will help me get through these next few months of home hunting and the chaos it brings to my life without my losing too much stuff in the meantime.

 

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