Why do we lose things?
The question nagged me during the two days spent at home as a blizzard raged outside.
It was especially brought to focus when my husband, Bryan, handed me a small pair of scissors he had used while in the horse barn and slid into his coat pocket.
The scissors, instead of becoming lost, is now permanently kept in my home office.
Engraved on several places around the blades are the words, “Avis Olson.” She didn’t leave any doubt as to the scissors’ owner.
Avis is my sister, and obviously she lost the scissors since I now have them at my desk.
How they ended up in my horse barn is what experts agree is just absent-mindedness.
They got picked up for use and left behind as my mind focused on another object.
We do it all the time.
We lose our car keys, our cell phones or the television remote.
Other experts say misplacing things is a normal part of aging.
They liken the feeling to running into someone and not being able to think of their name — and hours later, it pops into your mind.
Absent-mindedness or age, losing things happens frequently in my house.
Bryan and I often kid each other, “You can hide (and find) your own Easter eggs.”
In googling how to overcome losing items, here are some of their suggestions:
•When you put something somewhere, say its location out loud. This allows our brains to be more mindful where we put things.
•Take pictures. Ever leave a store and wonder where you parked your car? Most people annoyingly hit the panic button on their keys, setting off the car’s horn in short blasts. Experts suggest taking a picture of storage areas, where you store easy-to-lose objects. When you can’t find them, pull up the photo.
•Invest in technology that allows tracking of items. There are various fobs to attach to items that sound when pressed, signaling where the lost item is.
•Set up a routine where everything has a home. Place keys or purses in the same place, or place the item back in a certain drawer or cupboard to be found again when needed.
At home finding lost items has become a mystery game.
Bryan regularly loses his gloves when he works around the farm. He buys another pair, as the location of the original pair remains a mystery.
However, one mystery was recently solved in a funny location.
As last week’s weather forecast had us bracing for bone-chilling cold, he decided the heater in our well needed to be checked. I was recruited as the extra pair of hands for the project.
The well is topped with a heavy concrete slab and is not easily accessible without a crowbar and some muscle. Once removed, a ladder leads down some 10 feet until the pump is reached.
Within a minute of climbing down the ladder, an extra pair of gloves suddenly pops up from the hole — from this spring when Bryan previously checked the well.
