The fate of the windchime

I keep forgetting to write about this, so it's out of order, but it's a story that needs to be told. So here it is.

Last year for her birthday, Naomi wanted wind chimes. I thought it was an odd request from a four year old, but she never wavered. Anytime someone asked her what she wanted for her 5th birthday, she ALWAYS told them wind chimes. So, that's what she got. It kind of turned into Naomi's theme...and sort of a joke.

This year near Naomi's birthday my mom called from a store and said she found a wind chime, that it was kind of ugly, but it was only five dollars. So I said, whatever, go ahead and get it for her and I'll just bring it back with me after my trip out there.

"Kind of ugly" wasn't an accurate description. It was hideous! (At least eight times worse than this picture.) The whales were all missing their tails and it looked like it had been painted at a sweat shop for the blind! We laughed and joked about that thing but in the end, it got packed in a gift bag and sent with me when I went to the airport.

Now,the Waterloo Iowa airport is very small. There is only one bathroom in that place and once you go through security there is no going back out again. That means you better go to the bathroom before you go through security otherwise, tough luck. Well, I did, but then my plane was delayed...and delayed...so by the time we boarded, I already had to go. I wasn't about to use the bathroom on the airplane because those things just make me nervous. I shoved my carry-on bag and my purse and the wind chime in a gift bag under the seat in front of me, and sat with my legs crossed all the way to Minneapolis.

By the time we got there, I had one destination on my mind. So when we landed I just grabbed my carry-on bag and my purse and bolted for the nearest bathroom. As I was sitting on the throne, the pleasant bathroom music was interrupted by an announcement, "If you were on flight #0000 from Waterloo and left behind a wind chime, please return to your gate to claim it."

Honestly, I was in such a rush to find a bathroom that I didn't even remember what gate I had come in on. All I knew was that I went down an escalator. I just decided that it would make a lovely addition to the airport lost and found collection, and went on to meet my connecting flight to Portland.