Julia Sims: Land of the lost

I would not be surprised one bit if my son came home one day naked as a jaybird. Seriously, I wouldn't be.

You see, for about the last six months, he's been losing pretty much everything! One week, he came home on two separate days missing two different jackets. When I went in search of one jacket, a lady told me "You should make him walk up here and look for it himself."

Good idea, in theory, but I don't think I'm going to have a seven-year-old boy walk five blocks along a busy street by himself. But, I was with her on principle.

Then, there was the missing water bottle. That one bottle has actually been MIA quite a few times. One day this summer, he arrived home without his bathing suit. The next day, he came home without his well-earned swim band. I talked to him about responsibility and keeping track of things. Will gave me a pitiful look and said "Mama, this is just a weird, weird world. I don't know how this is happening to me."

It made me wonder: is this a "boy thing", a "seven-year-old thing," or a "Will thing?" Then, it dawned on me. It may be hereditary!

Cripes! why hadn't I thought of that before? You see, I have a habit of leaving a little trail behind me pretty much wherever I go. My cell phone is proof positive, full of frantic texts to co-workers looking for that one missing item.

I've tried little tricks to keep track of things. Instead of having a black wallet, I now have a lime green one, which makes it easier to keep track of when I'm on the run. Now I'm trying to figure out some tricks for Will.

This has also made me think of the one thing moms have told generations of children: "Just you wait until you have your own children, they will do the exact same thing. All of this will come back to haunt you."

Seems like Mom was right ... and my time is now.