Missing the Little Things

Back in August my purse was stolen. I didn't write about it then because it I so bummed out about the whole thing. It was taken out of my van during the night. And no, they didn't hurt the van at all because it was unlocked and all the windows were down and my purse was just sitting on the seat. So you could say I had this coming, but please don't. It's not like it's a secret that bored juvenile delinquents roam my neighborhood looking for trouble. Sheds, garages and cars had been broken into all summer. The feisty old lady down on the corner fought off teenagers with her soup pot who pushed their way into her house. She made national news.


A few summers ago my friend Denise got her purse stolen out of her car while we were hiking at Day Camp. That creep smashed her window to get it. I sat with her while the park ranger investigated the scene and wrote out the report. I helped her make the list of what was in her purse. It was the little things like the loss of an almost fully punched sandwich card and the coupons that caused her the most grief. That and loss of the purse itself. "Do you know how hard it is to find a good purse?", she lamented. I felt for her.


The morning I went looking for my purse and remembered I left it in the car, I had a sinking feeling before I even made it to the backdoor. I knew without looking that all the windows were down, the doors were unlocked and I left my purse on the passenger seat. By the time I got to the van I could only bring myself to peek in to confirm my fears. It wasn't there.


After that I went through the motions of searching the van all over and then searching the house, but I knew it was useless. The cop who showed up had nothing to offer. If it didn't show up in a neighbors' shrubs in the next couple of days, it was gone for good he said.


It didn't show up.


Just this weekend I found a purse to replace it. I've been carrying an old one that's just been okay. I also finally got a new wallet since I've just been using an old change purse for everything. All of the cards that can be replaced have been. I got a new purse brush and a cute box for my Tylenol. But I'm still missing the little things. The purse itself was my vacation purse that I added a button and a buttonhole to for our trip to NYC. It still had some souvenirs from NYC in there too. It had a 15% discount card for all copies that was still good until next summer. There were a couple of gift cards for book stores. Just when I think that I'm over all of it, something else will come up that I don't have because of the theft.


The biggest drag of it all was losing my phone. Not the phone itself, but the pictures on it that I never uploaded. I had that phone for three years and it had some great shots. I still don't have a phone which needs to be remedied. The Man has been sharing his phone with me, but I miss mine.


Here's one of the few shots of the purse that I found. I bought it only a week before we left and it was gone about a week after we came home. It had a short life, but at least it got a really fantastic vacation.