Lost and Found

I got a call from my mother-in-law last night about a problem she has. It's very difficult, especially over the phone, to get to the heart of what the problem really is. She was inquiring about activity on her Discover Card. To make a long story short... (if I didn't have this three-day headache, I'd make a long story longer with plenty of embellishment) ...she'd lost her credit card. I couldn't get out of her whether she'd lost only the card, or if she'd lost the entirety of her important personal docu- ments. So, I told her that I'd be over after work the next day (today), and after hanging up, the first thing I did was to call Discover and have the card deactivated. My initial stop this evening at the assisted living facility was the staff person who could tell me if they had a record of excursions and who went, thinking that I would go by or call these places to see if anyone had turned in her stuff. (They do keep a trip record.) When I went upstairs to the apartment, I sat down and navigated the semi-pertinent rabbit trails until I determined that everything is lost... credit cards, I.D., insurance cards, etc. And she doesn't know what-all she had. I asked for permission to search, and I got the flashlight and was looking under and behind furniture -- places that she might have missed. I didn't find the zippered pouch of credit cards and such, but I did find a bottle of medication that she had reported as missing. Next, I called Discover and let her give them permission to speak with me. When I inquired about any activity on the card since the last statement date, they told me of a single purchase, made two weeks ago at Hobby Lobby. She remembered that her youngest son had taken her. We called him, and guess what? The pouch of missing cards was in his truck. Whew! Except for having to get a new Discover Card, that sure did save me a lot of work! And, a big postscript, said younger son is going to photocopy everything before he gives it back to her so that I will have a record of what needs replacing if (when) this ever happens again. Don't you just love a story with a happy ending?