I have had a severe case of “mommy brain” for approximately 3 years. Not that my memory was good to start with, but it has become increasingly poor ever since I was pregnant with Chloe.
Case in point: yesterday I was running errands while the girls were at the sitter. I wrote everything that I needed to do on a piece of paper. I forgot the piece of paper. I tried to go from memory and get everything on my list. I managed to remember all but the thank you cards that I still haven’t written from Ella’s first birthday (a month ago). I came home, unloaded a few things from the car, then came inside. Gary came home, the kids were running amok and before I knew it, it was 7 o’clock. I went to grab something out of my purse, but I could not find it anywhere. I checked the car, my room, the trash can… any place I thought that I may have left it in my typical absentminded haze. After about an hour of frantic searching, I came to the conclusion that I must have left it somewhere. I re-traced my steps and realized that the last place I remembered using my purse was at Target. I remembered putting bags into the back of my car, I remembered putting my cart away. As far as I could tell, I left my purse in a shopping cart in the Target parking lot. Oh crap, I thought to myself… it is long gone.
I called Target, was put on hold several times and finally spoke to a live person. I asked if anyone had found a purse, that I thought I may have left mine in a cart. The woman asked my name, I told her, to which she replied “we have it”. I jumped in my car and raced down there to retrieve my purse.
During the drive, all I could think was that my purse and wallet were likely ransacked. Fortunately I had only about $3 cash in my wallet… at least I could cancel all of my credit cards. I had just refilled my checkbook. My stethoscope was in there, as well as the new battery I had just purchased for my camera. Not to mention a pair of broken eyeglasses that I have been too lazy to fix. And my purse… a genuine Louis Vuitton which my dear husband gave me as a Valentine’s gift several years ago. I feared that they would all be gone.
I walked in to Target, approached the very nice woman at the Guest Services counter and told her my name and that I had lost my purse. She took out her keys, unlocked a drawer and pulled out Louis. She said that she had dialed a phone number that she had found on some paperwork in my purse, and that my cell phone started vibrating. She couldn’t figure out how to unlock my phone, so she just hoped that I might call in. She said that it looked like everything was still there… I quickly pilfered my bag and my wallet, and all seemed to be in place. I asked her who brought it in and if they left a name because I wanted to thank them and give them a reward. No, she said, no name. Just a guest of Target.
To the mystery shopper at Target in Roseville, THANK YOU! You could have taken everything… my purse, my wallet, my phone, my identity. But you did the right thing and returned all of it, undisturbed. Which made me realize something: there are still good people out there, which is something that I have forgotten. I am happy to say that my faith in humankind has been restored. The cynical part of me thinks it will be short lived as some a-hole will quickly burst my happy bubble. But I prefer to believe the optimistic part of me, the part that believes there are angels among us.