The Lost is Found

"Think back to the last place you saw it..."

My mother's words of wisdom were running through my head.

Except I was so tired of hearing them, that they were running through my head in a nasal, high-pitched mocking tone. I had been searching for the last hour (actually, re-searching where I've been searching for a week). I had finished rifling every toy box and crap stack upstairs and had moved on to the basement. I'd been at it for the better part of an hour. 

I'd just finished (re)searching the basement cave. It's a room full of green beans (thank you, Nesting Season '09) and stuff for my next yard sale.  That's when I heard this voice in my head. A week ago, my mother's patient, logical voice in my head had been encouraging, even soothing. By now though, it was grating.

Frustrated, I continued the (re)search in the sewing room. Less than 30 seconds in to that phase of the search, I found it.

The missing cordless phone.

Right next to my mom's sewing machine.

Laying there, right in front of a gold picture frame.

A gold picture frame that holds a smiling, patient picture of my mom.

"See? I told you it would be in the last place you look," she said.

Maybe it's a smiling, patient, but oh-so-subtly mocking picture now.