UPDATE:  This just in - oh, my goodness - I've been nominated for Best Encourager in the Blog Awards!  What's that, you say?  I'm not sure but I'm on the list, along with EEEEmommy and lots of others.  I guess voting is April 15th or so.  There are many categories and Friday the 6th is the last day to nominate someone.  I think I got there by clicking on The Company Porch.  I couldn't figure out how to nominate someone, though (I'm not very computer savvy) bummer!  There are so many good bloggers out there.  I'm honored and humbled.  Be sure to vote for your favorite (and this is NOT plug for me - let's all be encouragers!)

Now, back to what I posted yesterday ...

At what point in our lives do we stop doing the things that we've always done that make us crazy?  When do we turn the corner from immaturity to maturity?  From carelessness to responsible?  From being lazy to being industrious?  Do you know?  Has it happened to you yet?  Or are you still waiting, like me, to one day wake up and be as tidy as your Mom or as hard working as your Dad (these examples come from my background - your background may vary).

My point?  I am a loser.  No, not in the sense that I wear stupid clothes and have bad hair (although, there are some days ... in fact, lots of day ...)  No, what I mean is that I LOSE things.  Always have.  It goes way back.  I know I lost things as a child but the biggest loss was my mom's anklet she wore in the 1950's.  She let me wear it to work once when I was a teen and when I got home, it wasn't on my leg anymore.  It just disappeared (she still doesn't know - don't tell her!)  Two years ago, I lost a favorite watch.  In my last blog, I think I mentioned I lost the room key of the hotel just minutes after I received it.  But most recently, and more horribly, I've lost my checkbook.  And the sad thing is, I lost that checkbook somewhere between the front door and our home office, 2 rooms away.  I can't find that thing anywhere!  And it's not the first time I've lost a checkbook!  I know I've done it twice before since I've had children.  My husband is at wit's end with me.  Sigh. 

You won't believe it but I've lost my wedding ring twice.  We hadn't been married very long the first time I lost it.  I used to take my wedding ring off when I had my typesetting business (working with chemicals was hard on jewelry) so I was alway putting it in a pocket.  I thought I had thrown it away in the kitchen trash at home so, of course, I searched the bin with no success.  Finally found it in a pocket of some pants in the laundry hamper.  Whew!  Fastforward to 1996, when we parked on a street in the next town over, and walked down the street to watch a Fourth of July parade.  I had put my watch and my wedding ring in my pocket  in my haste to get in the car before we left (remember, I'm not the most punctual person, either, and I can't remember why my ring was off my finger.)  Anyway, when we got home, I realized my ring wasn't on my finger or in my pocket.  It had fallen out on the parade route somewhere.   My dh actually went back to where we parked and walked the street until he found it.  At least 100 people had walked that same route after the parade and no one saw it or ran over it with their car!  I was at home, crying and praying for the Lord, if He willed it, to help my dh find the ring.  It would have served me right to have lost it for good, at least that's how badly I felt.  Praise the Lord, He lead my dh right to it.  The ring VERY seldom leaves my finger now. 

It gets worse.  My oldest son is also a loser!  Oh no, it's genetic!  He lost his first watch, a special left-hand watch we gave him as a birthday gift.  It was lost for several years, I think we've found it but I'm uncertain.  He's lost both keys to our storage shed (he likes to dig in the dirt and that's where the tools are.)  He's lost two leather baseball caps (the LAST leather baseball caps he'll ever get!)  How do I save him from a lifetime of losing?  How do I teach something that I am hopeless at?  Have you ever felt that way?  I can't exactly teach by example, although I guess I've already done a good job of that!  I'm not certain why I lose things.  Is there therapy for losers?

There's no explanation for it.  No excuse, either.  My kids are out of diapers, so I can't blame it on being a new/young mom.  Since it's been lifelong, I can't say it's due to the shedding of brain cells.  I guess it's just that annoying part of me that I'd like to change.  It's that bad habit that keeps me looking to the Lord for strength, wisdom and clearer-thinking.  It's a reminder that I need Him, constantly.