Through this blog I have shown how tea is a lifestyle choice for me. Good events or bad, a full cup of tea brings me around to an equilibrium sooner or later.
Where Is It???????
I asked myself this aloud, not caring who heard me talk to myself. Where was the last place I saw my phone, texted on my phone or scrolled through the shopping list in Notes? Where is that phone? It has to be here somewhere!
It was after dinner and we decided to go food shopping in the evening when it was cooler. I wanted to get the grocery shopping over and done with. I jumped in the passenger seat, and used my phone to complete my shopping list. That was the last time I remembered using my phone.
We were on the way home from two stores, I was thinking about someone and wanted to text and see how they were doing. I reached for my phone, but it wasn’t there. “My phone always seems to hide in the bottom of my purse” I thought. I proceeded to dig deeper into my purse and then systematically pull things out of my purse. Luckily I was in the passenger seat again because my next move was to dump out my purse onto my lap. No cellphone. Oh no!
As soon as we pulled up to the house and the car was put into park, I opened the door and bounded out of the car. I was talking more to myself than anyone else in particular, “maybe the phone fell between the seat and the door.” Nope, not there! Where is it? Where did I lose that phone, that tether to all family, work, and the world. I could feel my anxiety rise with each passing moment.
Then, I remembered. I remembered I was in the Aldi’s parking lot, hurriedly picking up something that fell out of my purse, before I got hit by passing carts. A chill ran through me. Did my phone fall out of my pocket, or did I drop it while picking something up off the pavement? Is my phone laying in the parking lot of the grocery store? Is it in nefarious hands? Is it obliterated beyond operation?
The Race To The Stores
As each store that I shopped at was called, or visited only to unsuccessfully locate my cell phone, my heart sank. My final and last possibility was the Aldi’s parking lot, or perhaps inside the store itself. We pulled up to the parking lot and shined the bright headlights on the area where we had previously parked the car. No cellphone! I was really becoming unglued by this point.
The store had closed for the evening but the lights were on and a semi delivering items was at the back of the store. I had a feeling someone had to be in there if the semi was in the back, engine running and the store lights were on. I did what I would like to think any desperate person who wanted to find their phone would do….I banged on the front door.
At first no one materialized. Then, from around a shopping aisle corner, several people stared at me and motioned that they were closed for the evening. I knew that. But. This. Was. An. Emergency. I lost my phone.
I didn’t give up. I motioned like I was holding a cell phone to my ear and then raised my hands in the universal gesture of “what”. That did the trick. Someone came over to the door and I shouted through the door something about my cellphone. The cashier who rang me up, standing well away from the door, recognized me, and yelled at the door attendant to ask what the cell phone looked like. The front door was then opened up a crack, and I was able to converse without yelling. I talked as calmly and concisely as I could regarding the color, type of hard case, and make of my phone. I saw the cashier walk to the front door. He was smiling as he approached and was holding something. It was my phone!
Still Awesome And Honest People In The World
I stood there incredulously staring down at my phone for what seemed like an hour. I am sure it was only a few seconds but it sure seemed like a long time. Then I looked up at the cashier and mumbled something like “How did you find the phone?” I listened with rapt attention as the cashier proceeded to tell me that someone turned my phone in to him right before closing the store for the evening. They explained that they found it in the parking lot and brought it in with them as they were headed for the grocery aisles. Bless them!
Pulse Elevated
The cashier stated that they keep all lost and found items locked up and my phone was secured in the store. I have always enjoyed shopping at Aldi’s but now they are held in the highest regard possible. Honest shoppers and honest, fast thinking cashiers; I’m sold on Aldi’s.
My pulse was probably still a little increased as I looked over the phone. The phone had scratches on the front edge, probably from our car, or someone else’s car running over the edge of the phone. The camera, and the rest of the screen seemed to be intact. In fact, it looked like the screen protector and the edge of the protective case where the only things that were wrong with the phone. It was a miracle, luck, or good fortune that my phone was in such great shape after the edge appeared to be grazed by a car tire.
Tea To Calm
There was a lot of worrying, anxiety, and “what-ifs” over the loss of that ridiculous phone. My nerves were gone. I was emotionally exhausted. After the adrenaline rush of losing and then finding the phone, I needed to relax. Luckily I keep a supply of Rooibos on hand for times I want a cup of soothing tea but not the caffeine per se.
The water was boiling and ready for me to pour into the teacup. What a long night it had been. Losing my phone was extremely stressful. I was ready for that cup of Marzipan Rooibos. I poured the water and let the steam surround my face. I breathed in the soothing aroma of almond, honey, and sweet grain notes of the Rooibos. I could feel the tension dissipate. I took a sip and found serenity, and a feeling of everything is right again.
May you find some serenity in your cup of tea,
Leslie
About The Author
Leslie Sundberg is a World Tea Academy Certified Tea Specialist, a World Tea Academy Apprentice Tea Sommelier, a Specialty Tea Institute Level IV trained Tea Specialist, and a Tea and Business Etiquette Specialist. On any given day, Leslie can be found teaching, speaking or sharing in the joys of a cup of tea. No matter what Leslie is doing or where she is, one thing remains constant: 4:00 in the afternoon is tea time!
