Lost & Found

One person's loss is another's treasure.

Dad went into Mountainside Hospital today; he had a heart attack. But he looks and sounds fine in the hospital bed. He was chatting away, telling funny stories to me and H., making the doctor and nurse laugh. He was even giving me some ideas for the car maintenance article I'm writing--about wiper blades, tires and more. My Dad has always helped me whenever he could.

He ate a PB&J and canned fruit, the only things the kitchen had to send up at about 6:45 P.M. The only clue to a heart attack was shortness of breath, but the staff at the nursing home took note. He now has an oxygen mask over his face and Heparin dripping into his bloodstream. Tomorrow, they'll do some tests at the hospital to gauge how bad the damage was and decide what path to take.

For some reason, though, I want to jot a short list about Lost & Found.

Lost

• A truly beautiful Kate Spade hair clip Sis got me for Christmas/birthday one year--she asked me what I wanted and I directed her to katespade.com. It was an oval, set with turquoise colored stones. It was $75; it was jewelry. I had it in my wallet [had brought it to the hair salon] and it seems my wallet was stolen last month, b/c it suddenly went missing and some kind man later found my driver's license on Valley Road and his wife mailed it back to me. I hope the bandit appreciates high-end hair accessories. 
• My Burberry scarf. H. replaced it this Christmas, but where the first one went is still a great mystery.
• One of two small emeralds on my engagement ring. I miss my ring so much--it's been months since the emerald popped out, though I don't know exactly when or where. I can't wear the ring with those empty, pointy prongs, which look so forlorn without the baby jewel they carried. We keep planning to get it repaired....
• My mother's pearls. They weren't real, but they were pretty, and they were hers. They slipped off my neck one lunch hour when I was a young woman working in New York City. By the time I noticed, I retraced my steps but never found them.
• Lovely gold basket charm from Nantucket. H. surprised me with it for my 40th birthday. We loved Nantucket the handful of times we went. I wore it almost every day on a gold chain. One day, the chain broke outside and the charm slipped off. Miraculously, months later, on a ferry ride to Nantucket, H. checked our home phone messages to learn that our neighbor Sally's little daughter had found it in the crack in our driveway.
• Ditto. Two times is not a charm. My hair was wet, and I was lifting up Punch to hurry downstairs and out the door somewhere. She yanked the chain and it broke and I never found my basket again. I checked and checked the bedroom carpet and the sidewalks. 
• My mother's charm bracelet. I didn't lose it, but we think Dad did. Seems he may have left it in one of Mom's coats that he donated soon after she died. Don't know, but would so, so, so love to have that.
• Really nice black ribbed Tahari cardigan. This is the one that got away. It was lightweight, slimming and elegant--and indispensable until that night several years ago. I bought it with two Lord & Taylor gift cards Dad gave me [one for Christmas and one for my birthday]. Went out to dinner with Moey and Lorraine at Macaroni Grill, and it must have slipped under the table. I called the restaurant later and even drove back the next day, but no luck. I've always regretted this loss.

Found

• A dainty gold heart locket with a diamond chip. I was a young girl in Dumont. It was one of the first pieces of real gold I ever owned. No photo inside. But when I come across it, I think some young lady must have been broken-hearted to lose it. Or maybe her boyfriend lost it en route. I did not know how to advertise that I'd found it.
• Cute orange-brown dachshund. H. and I adore dachshunds, and one Saturday in Ocean Grove, he found one roaming the neighborhood. He brought it up to show me. We each lived in apartments that did not allow pets, and there's no way we could have kept it. Soon enough, H. took the dog out again and the owners were scouring the neighborhood, happy to find him.

Glad, so glad, that I have not lost my Dad. Everything else is trivial of course. Good night.