Losing Little Things

We all experience loss in our lives.  We tend to dwell on the really big losses like the loss of a loved one or a job.  Then there is another tier reserved for items that are not necessarily life altering but still sting pretty badly.  These are big hits like your car getting totaled.  (Is it just me or does that always seem to happen right after you filled it up with gas or just spent some serious money fixing it?)  The loss could come in the form of a major unexpected home repair.  I’ve had air conditioning (which is a lot more expensive than you would think) the dirt around your foundation being washed away, sprinkler hose repairs, mudjacking, basement flooding due to two (2) sump pumps failing, basement flooding after you have fixed it because the dirt outside eroded and allowed the water access to your drainage system…you get the point.  Those sting pretty badly but in a few years you will have to strain to remember them or at least the specifics.  Today I want to talk about those little things you lose.  Which hurts more; a pebble in your shoe or a broken arm?  Having had both it is unquestionably the broken arm.  That was not a tough question.  Here’s the rub.  (No pun intended.)  When you have that pebble in your shoe it just annoys you with every step you take.  You take off your shoe and shake it.  Nothing comes out.  So you try it again and there’s that pebble.  You stop again and take your sock off this time, turn it inside out and shake it, then put it and the shoe back on.  It’s still there!  All day long with every step it digs at you and digs at you.  That is the difference between a big loss and a little one.  Sure, one of the big things is far more impactful to lose but the annoyance factor is much higher with something small.  As an example, I use a blue tooth on the phone.  I especially like to use it when I am reading something I have written from the computer to my brother on the phone.  He is blind and is sort of my beta reader.  He can listen and point out inconsistencies.  So I use the blue tooth and can type as I talk to him.  A couple of weeks ago I put my blue tooth in its place to charge.  The next day it was gone.  (Rub)I searched the whole counter.  (Rub)I asked around.  (Rub)I began to question if I left it there and so I started searching other places.  (Rub, Rub)  I tried searching for it in the dark to see if I could spot it flashing.  No good.  (Rub)  It is driving me crazy.  No one in the house would have touched it…except maybe my 3 year old grand-daughter and getting a straight answer out of her is like getting one out of Al-Qaeda.  You don’t know what to believe.   One day she might say she took it but doesn’t know where it is.  The next she might deny it all together.  It has to be here somewhere.  It wasn’t cheap and I don’t want to replace it.  And you know as soon as I buy a new one it will show up.  There is that annoying rub.  It is not a life-altering situation but the longer it goes on, the more consuming it becomes.  Perhaps I have a touch of OCD.  Who knows?  I just know I can’t stand to lose things.  I put them back where they go and I expect them to be there when I return.  Somehow buying a new pair of shoes doesn’t seem like the answer to the pebble problem.  It shouldn’t be so hard.  Anyone else feel this way?