Lost and found

You know when you know you have something, and you know where you last saw/used it, but for the life of you can’t find it when you need it next?  That was me and a set of colouring pens.

Now, we’re not talking anything deep and philosophical or anything like that.  We’re talking a set of colouring pens that I wanted, because I wanted to use a different colour, other than blue or black biro, to mark something off so that it was more visible.

I’ve had a set of colouring pens for ages, and I kept them with the squared paper that I used to write out #bellringing methods when I was learning something new.  Every bell was assigned its own colour and I would draw out each lead end so I could see when a different place bell started.  I’ve kind of moved on from doing that so much these days and use other methods for learning new methods that seem to work.

The pens however, were last seen with the squared paper, on the pile of books and magazines that are in the cubby hole to the left of where I sit on the sofa.  That’s where they’ve always been and had no need to be moved anywhere else. 

I have a nice new set up in our study with a new desk, chair, my laptop set up and my Holhem gimble ready and poised, and a nice shiny new stationery holder.  The stationery holder currently has my post it notes, my favourite couple of writing pens, a calculator, my business card holder safely ensconced.  There’s any empty slot shouting out for something to fill it.  The colouring pens would do marvellously, and then they would be at hand for me to mark off things on my events calendar.  But where the heck are they?

Having decided to look for said colouring pens two minutes before a video conference meeting was due to start, and not finding them instantly, I sat wondering for a while as the attendees for the meeting arrived.  Hmmmph!

Meeting over, I then had several actions as a result and some other things to immediately attend to, so the search for the illusive colouring pens dropped out of my mind for a while.  Then I went to sit down in my spot on the sofa and suddenly remembered that I had a mission to accomplish.  Find those ruddy colouring pens.  They’ve got to be there somewhere. 

Books and magazines start to get launched out of the way.  They can’t be far.  They shouldn’t be anywhere else.  They shouldn’t be this far down the heap.  After a full on three minutes of frustration, I flopped back in my sofa seat.  Grrrr.  Where are those blasted pens? 

Oh, hang on.  There’s a couple of books in the pile that have fallen over.  I’ll just put them upright again.  Oh, and hallelujah!  There are the prodigal pens. Hiding in the blackness of under the small coffee table that nestles amongst all these books and magazines.  Hoorah!

I happily skip (well, more like lumber) off back to the study, tip the pens out of their zipped, plastic casing and decide upon which colour to use as my marker.  Then, rather satisfyingly, plop them all into the waiting vacant slot in my stationery holder.  Having used the red pen to mark off my events calendar, I add that to the collection, then sit back to admire my handy work.

The simple pleasures!