I Can Finally Breathe Again

Just a couple of hours ago, I endured one of the scariest moments of my life so far. For about fifteen minutes, I thought that my wallet had been stolen from my purse while shopping. Thank you, Lord, that it wasn't. But I can't begin to tell you how scared and panicked I felt during those fifteen minutes.

It all started at 4:30. I called home, like I do every day, to see if the 'Rents needed anything on the way home. Mom has been really sick since yesterday with a nasty stomach bug, and Dad nor I wanted to cook so I checked to see what he wanted to eat for supper and to see if Mom wanted anything. I jotted down the list of provisions they wanted, grabbed my purse and headed toward home and the WalMart. I did my shopping and when I got the checkout lane and reached inside the Prada for my wallet, it wasn't there. I practically dumped everything out onto the counter and still no wallet. I told the clerk it must have fallen out, and I ran out to the car to check. Still no wallet. That's when I panicked. It wasn't your ordinary anxiety attack; it was a full-blown panic. I ran back inside and found a security person and told them that I thought my wallet had been stolen. I then told them that there was a chance it had fallen out of my purse and was at work in my cubicle. A police officer was there on unofficial business and heard my story, and when he heard me say I was going to zoom back to work to check, he offerred to drive me there. So yours truly got to ride in a police car (uncuffed, thank goodness, and in the front seat) down the street to work. I was a bit disappointed he didn't put on the lights and siren, but at least he did go fast. He stayed in the parking lot at work while I ran in. As soon as I got to my cube I dropped to my knees and was crawling around looking for it. After a minute that seemed like an eternity, I found it. It had fallen out of my purse and was sitting on top of the computer tower on the flower. As soon as I picked it up and clutched it to my chest, I said a major thank you prayer for finding it. I ran back out, still clutching my wallet to my chest, hopped back in the cruiser and Officer Smitty hauled me back to WalMart where I was able to buy my groceries, and then I headed home, still trembling a bit.

I still have to say that I don't ever remember being that scared before. For the fifteen minutes that the cop was hauling me to work, I thought I was going to have a nervous breakdown. All the time I kept thinking "Who all am I going to have to call to let them know my wallet was stolen?" The list was long -- the DMV to tell them my drivers license was stolen, my credit union to tell them about my debit card, Chase bank to tell them about my [thankfully] one credit card, AAA, Anthem health insurance, and various others. But thank the good Lord I didn't have to make those calls.

As I type this, I've calmed down a bit, but I am still a bit nerved up. I just hope and pray nobody else has to go through that uncertainty.