A Mom's Sixth Sense

Just like all other human beings, moms have the five senses - hear, sight, smell, taste, & touch.  But, it is our sixth sense that makes us stand out from the rest of the pack.  I call this the "lost & found" sense.

I don't know about you but I am faced with the task of finding the missing sneaker, book, lunch box, baseball shirt, etc... on a daily basis.  Did I say daily? Let's say that at least 2-3 times a day, I am called upon to find what is lost and return it to its proper owner.  As a somewhat experienced mom, I feel that it is important to share how to handle (and not to handle) this situation:

The Boomerang Effect - You may be tempted to ask the person to go and look for the item themselves.  You will reason in your mind that this person put it away and therefore he or she should know where to find it.  It sounds rational but I guarantee you that within 5 minutes that person will come back to you and say, "I can't find it" or I've looked everywhere." Of course, you know that this means they went into their bedroom, looked around, shrugged their shoulders and basically gave up.

The Blame Game - You will waste valuable time playing the game of he said/she said. Endless rounds of "You had it last." or  "You cleaned up the house and must have put it away somewhere."  This is a fight that is not worth fighting. While all of this may be true - the fact remains that it is still lost.

The St. Anthony Method - As a nice Jewish girl, I do not know much about saints - except for the song I learned about how they come marching in.  However, I've learned that St. Anthony is the patron saint of finding lost things. If you feel that you need divine intervention, you can find out more about St. Anthony here and call upon him if the need arises.  I have some friends who swear by this method.

The Always Tried & Never Failed Method  - Send in a mom to save the day.  But here are the rules:

• If the item is in plain sight and the person chose to overlook it, ask that person to go back to their room and give it a better look. Assure them that it will magically appear if they give it another try. 
• If the item is not in clear sight, bring in your puzzled partner and start the search together.  Make it a competition or a game. No one likes to do these tasks alone.  Even though moms can perform a search and rescue on our own successfully - we need to teach others to develop their sixth sense. 

Of course, if no one can find it, the kids will have learn to live without it, borrow someone else's or use their money to buy a new one. And you know that it will turn up someday where you least expect it.  Don't get me started on the time I found a check that was used as a bookmark. Yikes!