Losing my marbles? No, just my wallet

I’m freaking out.

One minute, I had my wallet, I had it in my hands. The next minute, I can’t find it. My wallet is gone and I’m panicking. Did I lose it? Did I leave it at the gym or just inside the center console of my car?

Where did it go?

I’m freaking out.

My financial life is wrapped up in my wallet. Heck, let’s be honest, my entire life is wrapped up in there too. I imagine my phone with all of my apps and contacts gone. I scare myself thinking of someone walking off with my credit cards and other important information.

My wife tells me to retrace my steps. She’s right of course. (She always is; I guess I should follow her advice more often.) I trace my steps back to where I’ve been the past 20 minutes and find my wallet laying innocently enough on our bed. I set it down when I came home and got a shower and forgot about it.

I let out a huge sigh of relief.

Whew.

I’m freaking out.

Okay, I’m calm now, but this scene has been playing out too many times in my life over the past several weeks. Every day it feels like I’m losing my keys, smartphone, wallet or my work badge that I need to gain access to my office. I set them down when I come home from the gym. I misplace them when I come home from work. If that weren’t enough, I put my phone in my back pocket and immediately forget that I put it there.

We had a saying when I was I younger that we would lose our head if it wasn’t attached or screwed on tight and it feels very appropriate for how I’ve felt lately. Despite my fears, I know that I’m not really losing my mind. It just feels that way.

I’ve had a lot on my mind lately. I’ve been thinking about my kids. I’ve been working a lot of hours and I haven’t gotten a ton of sleep. To steal another cliché, I’ve been burning the candle at both ends.

I’m freaking out.

So, yea, I’ve been a little forgetful. One of these days, I really am going to lose my wallet or my phone. I’m going sit down at some restaurant and walk away with them still on the table. With that in mind, I’ve been trying to come up with a few ways to protect myself. I think the biggest thing I’m going to do is to attempt to unwind. I’m going to take the next available Saturday and do absolutely nothing. I mean absolutely nothing. The mere words make my heart sputter with excitement.

Next, I’m going to start to place my phone and keys in the same spot every time I come home, making sure that they’re always in one of two places, on me or in a special spot in our house. Safe and sound.

My other suggestion is to slow down and be more methodical. I’m not sure this will help all that much — life is busy, it’s just a fact — but maybe, just maybe, if I’m more methodical, slower in my pace, I won’t be rushing so much and putting myself into a panic.

So, the next time I misplace my phone, I’m going remind myself: “It’s in the back of your pocket idiot!” I’ll be freaking out, but hopefully I’ll be freaking out with patience.