Sunday night as I laid in bed I listened to the rain smash against the window. It hit so hard I thought the drops might actually break the glass. The thunder boomed and the lightening lit up the room. The rain we had been waiting for had finally come and I snuggled down into my pillow and let the storm lull me to sleep.
I awoke the next morning in a rush. The carpet cleaners were coming at 8:00 and I had to get all of the furniture out of the living room, myself and the boys dressed and fed, and all of us into the basement and out of the way. I rushed around the house in a whirlwind as the hubby tried to get ready for work. Why did I set this up for a Monday morning? Ugh.
The cleaners arrived and began their setup just as Todd was about to leave for work. I noticed Todd frantically searching for something and asked what he was looking for this time.
"My keys! Where the heck did I put my keys?" he said.
Oh good Lord. Here we go again. I thought the little hook I had installed in the kitchen would solve this dilemma, but it clearly did not. You see, you have to actually PUT the keys on the hook in order for it to work.
"Well, when did you last have them?" I asked him like I had a thousand times before.
"When we got back from the boat ride last night I opened the door for everyone. Did you take them after that?" he asked me.
"No. You opened the door and then went back outside to clean up the boat. Did you take them back out with you?" I asked him back.
"Um. I don't know." he admitted.
So the search began. Because all the furniture was moved out of the first floor it made the search all the more difficult. We looked on every surface. I looked in the door (he has been known to open the door and leave the keys in the door overnight), looked on my dresser, looked on his dresser, checked his pants pockets, checked the floor, looked in the fridge (yep, he can be a little scatter brained), checked the pantry, looked in the bathrooms, looked in the basement. The keys were no where to be found.
"Did you check the truck? Maybe you left them in the truck." I suggested.
"I already checked there." he said,
"Well, did you check the bumpers of the cars? Maybe you just set them there and forgot about them." I kept asking. Clearly he did not like this suggestion because there was no response.
After almost 20 minutes of searching Todd grabbed the spare key off my key chain and took off for work.
At lunch time he stopped home to ask me if I had found them (nope) and then continue the search. He had his truck key, his house key, his parent's house key, his parent's cabin key, the key to his office building, his dad's warehouse key, garage keys and a million other keys on that key chain. It needed to be found.
"Where is your phone? Do you have your phone?" I wanted to know.
"Um. No. I don't know where that is either." he said sheepishly.
"Well, they are probably together then. Try calling your phone." I suggested.
He called and no deal. Either it was on vibrate (it usually is) or it was too far away to hear. Now he was really starting to panic. That phone is his life line. It is one of those palm
piloty type phones. You know, phone, computer, appointment book, whole LIFE type of things. He lives by that thing. I was shocked that he hadn't noticed it was gone until now.
As I began making the boys' lunches I heard Todd say, "No way! Oh no!" I heard the back door open and Todd run outside. I looked out the window and saw the phone in Todd's hand.
"Where was it?" I asked as I joined him outside.
"On top of the minivan! I just got a flash of me setting them up there yesterday. I had so much crap in my pockets I set it all up there when I went to clean out the boat. I came running outside to look and sure enough!" he said.
"But it was POURING last night! It's not gonna work anymore! And I drove to the grocery store today! And past the lake! How did it stay on top of the car! The keys aren't there. They must have fallen off." I said in one long breath.
"It works! The phone works! The leather case must have somehow protected it from the rain." he yelled.
Todd went inside to finish the boys' lunches as I jumped in the car and retraced my drive to the grocery store and down past the lake. I drove as slowly as I could, sweeping the street with my eyes. I kept jumping out of the car the minute I saw anything that looked like a possibility. Nothing.
"Alright, St. Anthony, the only way I will ever find these keys is with your help. This is gonna be like spotting a needle in a haystack. This might very well be impossible. Help a woman out, would ya?" I begged.
I stopped in the grocery store parking lot and asked the cart boy if anyone found a set of keys. He ran inside to check. Nothing. I continued on. I drove out of the parking lot back onto the busy street, my eyes becoming blurry now from looking so frantically while trying to watch where I was driving at the same time.
Every time there was a bumpy area or a sharp turn I paid particular attention. Surely the keys would not have stayed on through all of this. This is nuts! Still I kept searching. I drove past the lake (completely ignoring the beautiful water for the first time) looking and looking. I started up North Point hill. A massive hill that always scared me when I rode my bike down it as a kid. It is so steep that they keys had to have fallen off here. Still I got to the top of the hill and no keys.
I made the turn at the top of the hill and spotted something shiny in the middle of the road.
"No WAY!" I said slamming the car into park and jumping out.
It was Todd's keys! They must have slid to the back of the minivan up the hill and then lost it around the corner. I can't believe I found them! YES! I am awesome! Thank you, St. Anthony! So good!
I sped back to the house and showed Todd. We were both shocked they were found. AND, the electric door opener still worked. How is it possible to leave your phone and keys out in the pouring rain all night, drive them around town for about 8 miles, and still find them in working condition? Boy, did we luck out! This has got to be a first! And hopefully, a last!
My husband has many great qualities, but keeping track of his things is not one of them. That has become my job. At work he is amazingly organized. He has over a hundred clients and files and averages 50 phone calls a day, managing it all beautifully. But he comes home and his brain goes on vacation. I've learned to accept it.
The next day when he came home from work I said to him, "Uh, Honey? Do you remember where you put the spare key that you had taken off my key chain?"
"
Umm..."
This is not exactly how we pictured spending the last vacation days before school starts, but at least Todd was still able to get Joey and Tommy out to the sprinkler park for a few hours and then treated them to lunch. They came home all breathless and excited with tales of their good time. Ben had not been happy about staying home and I'm sure their enthusiasm didn't help. I felt so badly for him.
Because the weather was just hovering around 74 degrees and Lake Michigan is known for being pretty chilly I decided not to put the kids in swim trunks. What I forgot to factor in was how oddly warm the lake water always gets in August and September. Add to that the big, lolling waves that were splashing up on the soft sand and I knew the boys would end up soaking wet. 
and then take off down the beach in search of more stones and sticks. 
All the while as the boys were enjoying the sand Joey swam. 
Oh, summer, how I'll miss you.
