Lost!

Yesterday around 4:30, Old Man called me (from work) to tell me he couldn't find his keys. We figured they were in his car, but he wanted to call me before he went out to check (it's apparently about a 10 minute walk from his office to his car). A bit later, he called me, from his cell phone. I figured that meant he found his keys in his car. Nope, he was able to get into the car because he hadn't locked the back (he cannot bring a cell into work, so he leaves it in the car). No keys. Being the sweet wife that I am, I asked for directions to the base (never been to the base he works on), loaded kids into the car - at dinnertime - and drove out to give him a key. It's about 25 minutes from the house - not a bit of traffic, nice farms and mobile homes all along the way. :-) WAY better drive than a DC drive!

To get on the base, you pass through a gate and have to show your military ID. I made it through, found Old Man, rolled down the window and handed him a key. Immediately Joseph says, "I want to ride with DAD!" I got out of the car, let him out and then had to let David out too (he had to go with Dad too).

As we left the base, I started wondering if I had put my ID away. So I fumbled through my wallet and purse (while driving) and couldn't find it. Started feeling around my seat. Couldn't find it. Called Old Man, "ummm I think I lost my ID. I'm guessing it fell out of the car when I got out to let the boys out." Great. In case you are not familiar, your military ID has your sponsor's social security number on it. Yep, Old Man's ssn, out there, for anyone to find. We got home and I did a thorough search of my purse and car. No ID. Now we are out a set of keys and my military ID. This is not turning into a good day!

I started supper and was so irate with myself for losing my ID! I mean, I've had an ID for about 25 years and have NEVER lost one. I began to beat myself up about it a bit and get upset about getting older and losing my brains. While I'm in this grumpy mood, Old Man mentions something about people getting deployed out of his office. He's just wondering when there will be a need for someone like him to be deployed. At this point I sort of nervously laughed and told him I was going to pretend it couldn't happen...ever. (Do men have any clue about timing here? Although maybe there is no such thing as good timing when you're talking about your husband potentially having to leave for 6 months to a year.)

I managed to convince Old Man that my ID had to be in the parking lot and he just needed to get to work a bit early so he could look for it. (We've had snow, so you can imagine how easy it would be to find a tiny ID card in a parking lot.) At 7:30 this morning, Old Man called me - he found my ID!!!!! I woke up praying this morning for God to have mercy on our old, forgetful brains and help us find it. Yippee! Of course, we're still missing his keys ...