Dear St. Anthony, please come around...

Well, well, well. I'm coming off of a difficult stretch here, and although I feel a lot better than I did yesterday, when it rains, it pours, you know? :)

I walked from my car into the library this morning finishing up an episode of Catholic Vitamins. They were playing a clip from an Audrey Assad song, and it was just heavenly. I love her music. My step felt a bit lighter.

Then I got off the staff elevator and reached for my keys to let myself into the break room and stash my lunch in the refrigerator. They weren't there.

:0

At first, I didn't panic. At first. ;-) I emptied my purse and looked through all the hidey holes they could have slipped into from their usual spot in the designated key pocket with my car keys. Nothing. I searched them all again in the hopes that I had simply missed them the first go round. That didn't seem very likely, but I wasn't exactly in the mood to be rational. No keys.

I heave a big sigh and call Mike from my cell, who is still at home. Were the keys on the counter near where my purse rests when I'm not using it? He checks, and nope. He also helpfully walks out to the garage to see if I dropped them in there, no dice.

At this point, I was starting to worry a bit, but was hoping that when I left my office on Friday, I simply locked them inside. I do this REGULARLY. I try so, so hard, dear reader, but despite my best thinking cap efforts, I still leave them behind in my office a few times a year before shutting the door. Which automatically locks behind me. This is a nuisance, but there is in fact a solution. One of our facilities staff has a set of keys to everything in the library. I pray that he's in, and head down to his office.

Thankfully, I espy him. Unfortunately, someone else has borrowed one of his key rings, on which lies the key box key where the key to my office is. This is getting complicated, isn't it? He directs me to where he thinks the key borrower is, and I have to hunt for her in a God forsaken corner of the basement that is being cleared out. But I find her, and she assures me that she'll meet me up in front of my office with the keys in just a few minutes. Glory Be.

There was a minor snafu wherein we thought she had the key to my office, but she actually didn't, and had to make another trip down to the key box. But finally, we harken my office. I scurry to my desk. No keys.

*long suffering sigh*

I really thought they'd be in there. We hunt around on the floor a bit, nothing. She tries to help me come up with some ideas for action items. Call Lost and Found for one. I think of my car, where my purse could have tipped over, spilling out the keys and maybe sliding them under a seat. I resolve to check both places, and she secures a temporary key for my office. My key ring also included keys for the break room and the reference office (which is where the tea water lives), and there are no temporaries available for those, sob!

I head out to my car cautiously optimistic. Someone begins stalking me and I have to tell them that I'm not leaving, so they can't have my parking space, :0 I open the passenger side door in hopeful expectation...and I'm sure you're not surprised by this point to learn that the keys weren't there. I had said a St. Anthony prayer and everything, but the man can't work miracles, we have to help him out a bit and I'm just hopeless. I hunted really good, and then headed back in to the library. I also called Lost and Found, who had no keys turned in. I was officially out of options.

I called our assistant to ask her to order a new set of keys for me, but things move at the speed of glacial melt over here, so I'm not optimistic that this will be anytime soon. In the mean time, I do have the temporary key to my individual office, but I'm at the mercy of others to get into the break room with the refrigerator and microwave, and the reference office with our mailboxes and bottled water supply. I'm feeling very sorry for myself over this fact. :-\

While I await the new keys, I started browsing Etsy for a new key ring since I *clearly* need help keeping track of my keys. A few months back, I bought a St. Kateri key ring from Mary's Prayers for my house key and I love it. I'm thinking a St. Anthony key ring might be in order. :0 But I had to laugh when I saw this:

Appropriate, yes? Apparently this can be made into a key ring as well. :0 My Guardian Angel must be so exhausted, poor thing.

All right, I'm heading down to heat my tomato soup and get hot water for tea and pray that the reference office is open. *pitiful sniffle* How are you today, dear reader? Any good St. Anthony stories to share?