WHERE'S THE CAR?

We lost the car! No big news flash in my world, it happens regularly. I jump out of my big red truck and take off like a crazy woman on a mission paying no attention whatsoever to where I've parked. Reality hits when I finish my errand and decide to head back to the house. It is then that I discover that I have no idea where I put that thing. But, this time was different because Honeybuns was with me and he NEVER loses any vehicle he's recently driven. Last weekend we arrived at the Orlando International Airport in our freshly rented full-sized Grandpa-car. You know the kind, shaped like a boat and just about as big. We parked in the parking garage and headed into the terminal to meet and pick up the granddaughter. After hugs and squeals we headed back to the parking deck only to discover that YEP, someone had stolen our car! It was NOT in the spot where we'd left it. We scoured that place investigating all levels. My instinctive position was to stay calm, happy, and carefree so as not to frighten our little girl. I told jokes, stories and sang a song or two. Her contribution to the situation was to provide solutions, "let's just leave it and go get another car", "where's the bus?", "can we just call a cab?" and "let's ask that man over there if he's seen our car." She also thought it important to whip out her cell phone to call her mom to report the incident. Her Mommy's reply? "PAPA'S lost? And to think that I trusted these people with you." Her fathers response? "Happens to me all the time! No big deal!" We've known for years that he inherited MY sense of direction. We both have a difficult time finding our way out of the driveway. Any and all suggestions were no help to Honeybuns who just could NOT believe he was in this situation as smoke began to seep out of his right ear. This was a totally NEW experience for this man who was born with a great and perfect sense of north vs. south. He was gaining a new appreciation of my relationship with automobiles and parking lots during this very humbling ordeal. After an HOUR of searching in that hot Florida climate, going back to the spot where it should have been SEVERAL times hoping that it would simply reappear, we gave up and decided to retrace our steps. The plan was that one of those steps would include calling the police and reporting the thing as missing. Back in the terminal we eventually learned that there are TWO terminals, A and B. And therefore there are two parking decks, A and B! The two structures are MILES and MILES apart. Alas...we'd parked in A and had been searching in B! Once aware of the layout we noticed big signs everywhere. A blind person with a dog would have done a better job of navigating that place. Evidently in all the anticipation of meeting Maggie we'd turned right when we should have turned left, etc....and ended up in total confusion. (I'm hoping age has nothing to do with this!)
So began our weekend of fun memories. That unexpected memory is probably the one that now brings on the most laughter. And isn't that the way it always works.
But once is enough, I'm packing bread crumbs and a large ball of string from now on.