The Case Of The Missing Treadmill Key (60/366)

Saturday March 3, 2012

Yesterday was my baby Ava's birthday.

It was just slightly overshadowed by her older sister losing her first tooth.

It was also briefly overshadowed by the sudden realization that I could not find my treadmill key.

Anywhere.

I knew I had taken it out and put it somewhere (I would have bet money that I put it in the junk drawer in the kitchen), so the girls or their friends wouldn't play on it while they were in the basement.

As Ava and I were starting her big day, we saw Sissy get on the bus and I asked Ava what she wanted to do for her birthday.

She wanted to clean toilets.

She didn't want to play any games.  She didn't want to go anywhere.

She wanted to clean toilets.

The kid loves to help me clean!

I was going to clean later in the day while she was taking a birthday nap, but since she wanted to help, I thought that would be just fine.  After all, when I went in to wake up her sister for school, she sat straight up in bed, wide eyed, greeted me with a huge grin and said, "Today is my boofday Mama!"

So, she was cleaning one of the toilets (very carefully, with cleaning gloves), and I was in the kitchen cleaning up.  I thought I would get in the junk drawer and pull my treadmill key out so that I could put it back downstairs by the treadmill.  I figured it was safe since the girls weren't going to be down there for the next few days and their friends had gone home.

It wasn't in the drawer.

It wasn't on the key rack.

I ended up removing the drawer from its track and placing it on the kitchen counter.  I emptied it, organized it, and still no key.

I went through my dresser drawers.  I cleaned those out, organized them.  No key.

I went through my closet.  Cleaned it out, got a Goodwill pile ready, washed it down, was up on a chair looking in the high places.  No key.

I went through every nook and cranny, cleaning as I went, every closet, every drawer I could think of.  No key.

So, I thought I would go downstairs and look on the treadmill to see if maybe I hadn't actually removed it.

I looked in the side pocket where I normally place the key when I'm finished.  No key.  All of my iFit cards were in there, but no key.

So, I went back upstairs, and looked in every nook, cranny, closet, drawer and storage bin I could think of.  No key.

I resigned to the fact that I was going to have to call NordicTrack and request a new key.

I went back downstairs, got ON the treadmill.  I was looking for the serial number of my treadmill so I had all of the information ready for them when I called the next morning.  I looked up, looked down, looked right (where the key normally is), looked left in the other pocket that normally holds my water bottle.

THERE IT WAS.  THE KEY.

It had been there the whole time.  The first time I checked the treadmill, I had only checked the right side pocket. I didn't even think to lean over another foot to check the left side.  I NEVER PUT IT THERE!! 

So, there it was, in plain sight.  Obviously I don't need to hide it from my kids... because I do a great job hiding it from myself.

How frustrating! And exhausting!

So, Ava and I finished up the bathrooms together and I quit cleaning!  I was DONE for the day!

Today I am thankful for my little peanut that loves to help me clean!  I am thankful that she was patient enough to let me scour this house from top to bottom in a panic looking for my beloved treadmill key.

I am also thankful for my working treadmill.  I needed to run off some anxiety after that!!