My son came to visit me from Louisiana last week. It was a blessing to have him visit. I decided to take him to Schlitterbahn before I took him back to Louisiana. We left on a Friday afternoon and got into New Braunfels late in the evening. We found a motel and settled in for the night. Unfortunately our room was right next to the ice machine so we didn’t really get much sleep.

Saturday morning we caught a quick breakfast and drove to the water park. We snagged a good parking spot right near the entrance. We had a wonderful time there and made a good memory. We got home late on Saturday night and I quickly packed a cooler with food that he could take back with him. I also cleaned out the car so that we would have a pleasant drive back to Louisiana. I was exhausted but pleased when I went to bed on Saturday night because I had felt like I was well prepared to leave on Sunday morning and we wanted to leave early.

I woke up early on Sunday and started to pack the car. The morning was going well and I was still proud of myself for organizing everything for our departure the night before. Then something happened that upset my apple cart. I could not find my keys. I looked underneath the cushions on the couch, underneath the couch, in my bedroom, in my bags from the day before. My son unpacked his bags and looked in there. The keys were nowhere.

When I lose my keys, something happens, monsters come into my brain.The monsters inside my brain were taunting me. They were telling me that I was a scatterbrain and I couldn’t do anything right. They effectively wiped out the memory of my organization and efficiency the night before. They ignored the fact that my house was cleaned up and if the keys were in my house I should be able to see them. They told me that I should have an emotional breakdown because that is what I usually did when I lost my keys.

This time I told them to “SHUT UP!” I was not going to dissolve into a bucket of tears because that would not help me find my keys. I was going to go through each and every thing I could until I found them.

I finally found them at the bottom of the trash can which was already on the curb. I had been so tired I did not notice them slip from my hands when I was throwing trash away the night before.

I taunted the monsters in return. I told them it was a wonderful thing that we had to leave on a Sunday instead of a Monday because the trash would be picked up on Monday and my keys would have been gone. I told them I had been exhausted the night before and it was understandable that I did not notice them slip out of my hands. Then I told them it was a good thing I had been so organized the night before because we left just a little bit late instead of a whole lot late. I also told them that there suggestion that I dissolve into tears did nothing to help me find my keys but my peace and concentration succeeded in finding the keys.

Furthermore I told them to get lost, they weren’t any help anyhow.