My Favorites: Day 6

My Favorite Unbelievable Thing that I Have Done

This one took some time for me to think about. A few self-aggrandizing examples came to mind immediately, but it’s not the right day of the week to inflate my ego so I was left stuck. In fact, I’m writing this a day late in part because I had no clue what would fit as an example; there was also this little football game on too.

I searched the depths of my memory, even recalling some of the horrors that were high school, determined to find an appropriate story to “WOW” you the readers and further perpetuate the façade that I lead an interesting life. While I spent all that time dusting out the catacombs of my mind, I failed to notice what was happening in the here-and-now of the day. Yep, (one of) my favorite unbelievable things that I have done happened this very day.

It all started with a bang around 8 o’clock on Wednesday, January 26th… eleven days ago. It was more of a loud snap actually, as we lost a couple large branches off of the only tree in our front yard. A very heavy snow was falling and quickly piling up. I went outside with a long stick and whacked as much snow off the tree as I could, all the while my lovely wife calling out the window that I “look ridiculous.” The tree being sufficiently whacked, I went back inside.

The gory remains of the heavy snow that hang out of reach.

Thirty minutes later, I realized I had lost my wedding ring.

I wasn’t sure at what point in the day it was lost. I immediately started retracing my steps, but with the snow continuing to fall, there wasn’t much hope. It wasn’t until Friday that I could truly retrace my steps… work, gas station, a lake whose parking lot was still covered in white. It was nowhere to be found. Desperation was settling in as I worried my naked finger with my thumb.

The only hope I had was that it would reveal itself when the snow melted, which brings us eleven days (a week-and-a-half!) forward to Super Bowl Sunday. The story of my lost ring had turned into an increasingly sad tale that was still fun to tell because, like all good stories, there was that one-in-a-million chance of a happy-ending, however fleeting that may be. I told it to a friend who was visiting and soon found myself outside in 45 degree weather shoveling through melting snow. My method was to spread a shovel-full onto the driveway and sift through it. I think a metal pan would have been more successful and after twenty minutes I gave up, deciding for myself that I “look ridiculous.”

As our guest was leaving, my wife and I saw her to the door and said our goodbyes. Five seconds later, we heard her shout, “Found It!” It had been hiding just off the driveway, right by my sifted and melted snow.

At that moment, our guest felt less like a friend and more like a hero. Then she got in her jeep and drove off into the sunset.

Okay, so I didn't do it, but I do have an unbelievable lost wedding ring story that involves nobody but me and 7-11.  That's for another day.