The Little Things

by Jacqueline Schrader

Have you ever had that moment where you’re leaving a place, then forget something? You forget one of those little things, the little things you don’t ever think about. I’ve seen this happen on more than one occasion. In fact, I saw it today at my Girl Scout meeting.

It my happened to my best friend, Monica. She had a pair of sunglasses with her. She had put them next to her backpack. When she left, she forgot them. I don’t know how people forget things so easily. I guess they just do. I forget, but I don’t know why. I really wish people didn’t forget things. My parents say it’s carelessness, but I don’t know.

I guess that means that my dad was careless when he locked me, my sister, and himself out of the car. We had to wait an hour for my mom to come and unlock the car. It just happened to be a hot, sunny day, and we were parked in a church parking lot. From looking back over that experience I realize that forgetfulness can affect other people as well as yourself.

On another occasion, while my parents were at the hospital and Mom was giving birth to my youngest sibling, my brother Nikolai, who turned 5 months old today, Elizabeth, Genevieve, Xavier, and I were at a friend’s house. We were staying with Britani and her mom, Miss Sally, for a few hours. They took us shopping with them. While we were waiting for the items to be scanned (and while we were recieving queer glances from people nearby), Miss Sally bought us some Bubble Tape gum. I picked red (because it was the last one on the shelf and I knew that nobody could pick the same color), Elizabeth picked out purple, Genevieve got her favorite color, pink, and Xavier recieved green. We bought them and left.

At the Losoya’s house, we began munching on our gum, before dinner, which was spaghetti and garlic bread. Miss Sally tells us not to eat any more gum because dinner was almost ready. So, Genevieve and Xavier stuff mounds of gum in their mouths. Elizabeth tells on them, so Miss Sally takes away the gum and puts it on a counter, perfectly visible. When the time comes to leave, we all say thank-you and good-bye, and Dad herds us out the door. And guess what? After all that stuffing and chewing and blowing, Genevieve and Xavier forget their gum.

At another Girl Scout meeting, a girl named Meredith forgets her bandanna. The next Friday, she forgets to ask about it. And she forgets again, and again, and again.

The sunglasses, the keys, the gum, the bandanna; they’re all some of those little things, the little things you always forget about. But my question is, why, why do people forget about the little things? I mean, people always pay attention to the little things for a while. But then, it seems like the instant they put the thing down and stop using it, they totally forget about it. Weird, huh? That’s what I think.

People don’t just forget their little things, they misplace them too. Some people think that misplacing is worse than losing, and others think the opposite. I, though, think that they’re equally bad. If you need something, then you misplace it (which I do quite frequently, I might add), then you don’t have it when you need, and losing something is just as bad. Most of the time the little things are misplaced, forgotten, and lost. I feel so bad for the little things. The little things sometimes give pleasure, and other times they are a useful tool.