Losing a Wallet….UGH

So I left my wallet on a Southwest Airlines plane this summer…I didn’t realize it until I got home – 40 minutes from the airport. At first it didn’t bother me so much, but then as the days passed, I realized how much of an impact this loss was having on my life.

The anxiety was palpable! Driving without a license, praying I didn’t get pulled over; not being able to rent a car on a business trip; having to use a personal temporary debit card for my weekly business travel expenses; AND carrying my beloved passport around for I.D. hoping I wouldn’t spaz and leave that somewhere too! UGH!!

A week passed and I kept getting notifications from Southwest, “We regret to inform you we have not found your lost item”. Bummer.

This event reminded me of 2 other times when similar things happened….

I once dropped my wallet getting out of a taxi in Soho, NYC. A passerby, turned it in to a bar in the neighborhood – they tracked me down as my hotel key was in the wallet. Everything was in tact. PHEW. This happened about 4 months after 9/11, so the entire city was in a loving, caring, compassionate space. ❤️

The second time I was at the Houston International Airport heading home from my usual work commute. I went to the ATM machine to withdraw $60 and then in a bleary-eyed work trance, shuffled my way back to the gate and flew home.

The next day, I got a call from an airport employee saying the $60 AND my debit card were apparently still in the machine when I walked away. OOPS. The person who picked it up, turned it into the airline lounge. Coincidentally, the airport employee had a daughter who worked at my bank so she deposited the cash in my account and ordered me a new debit card!

With this kind of luck, I was CERTAIN the 3rd time was a charm and I was due to have a bad experience. I thought, who loses something on a plane and EVER sees it again??

A couple of weeks passed. I had given up all hope. Seemingly out of the blue, I got an email from Southwest: “Your lost item has been found. We will fed-ex it to you within the week”. I was skeptical…sadly.

Sure enough, the wallet arrived about 4 days early with EVERYTHING IN IT! I couldn’t believe it. All of the credit, business and insurance cards as well as a check for $200 to replace the cash they took out of the wallet to ensure its safe return!

Many lessons learned with this experience: Have faith things will work out and more importantly, in this weird world in which we currently live, have faith in humanity. A large part of our population wants to do the right thing.

Through all of this, I am convinced the universe continues to remind me to pay attention! Maybe I’ll find some cash on the ground, or find another’s wallet to return, or maybe NOT lose my own stuff!

Cheers to those good eggs who do the right thing!! May they have a lifetime of good fortune 🙂.

Pam

PS. Southwest Airlines will always have my business!!