A Stranger Hug and Missing Keys

We haven’t been getting a whole lot of sleep around these parts lately. That’s all I will say about that.

As a result, I’ve been feeling a bit sloth like. A bit tired. A bit draggy. Other than going to work on Tuesday evening and a quick meeting on Monday, I haven’t gotten out this week. That makes the days somewhat longish.

So, in order to cure this, I decided to pack up the little and head to Wal-Mart and the Superstore after lunch today. When I got to Wally World, I grabbed myself a large fountain pop from McD’s (no shame in that) and started browsing. I looked through five aisles of Easter candy and did not purchase a single thing (proud?) before heading to the baby section to grab a new crib pad, some breast milk storage bags, a few sippy cups and some other little things that were on my list.

Once I had everything, I headed back up to the front to check out. I paid, took my bags and wandered towards the doors. When I got to the door, I stopped to organize myself before I ventured out to the car.

You know, put the baby’s hat on, zip up my coat, unclip the diaper bag from the stroller, get my car keys ready….

Car keys.

I had everything all set to go but I could not find my car keys anywhere.

I knew I locked the car. I specifically remember pressing the button twice and hearing it honk.

I swore I put them in the side pocket of the diaper bag. Where I always put them. Well, at least mostly always.

I searched both side pockets. No keys.

I searched my coat pockets. No keys.

I searched the wallet section of my diaper bag. No keys.

I was starting to panic.

In the meantime, the greeter, who was a sweet older woman, had wandered over to say hello to my baby.

She was chatting away with her and getting a ton of smiles and giggles in return all while I was frantically searching for my keys.

Soon enough, the lady realized that something was wrong. She asked me if everything was okay.

I told her I couldn’t find my car keys even though I swore I put them in the side pocket. I said that I may need to call my husband to come get us.

She looked at me with a smirk. Put her kind, grandmotherly arm around me, patted my back and said,

“Dear. They are in your hand.”

I looked to my hand – the one I had been using to search for my keys – and sure enough, looped around my middle finger was my key ring.

I let out a sigh and thanked her for putting me out of my misery.

She smile at me again, and said, “Bless your heart, sweetie. Go home. Have a nap.”

And then she hugged me.

Normally, that would seem all kinds of creepy to me. But today it wasn’t. She was just a sweet Grandma type who was drawn to my bundle of cuteness and had a soft spot in her heart for a tired Mama. It put a smile on my face.

And now I’ll know where to look next time I’m at Wal-Mart and can’t find my keys.