True Story
I am finally remembering to post this story. It happened back in August and I've been meaning to post it ever since. I think my brains have almost officially gone to mush. I blame it on the lack of sleep.
I had just received the Olan Mills family pictures we had taken in July in the mail and wanted to get frames for them, as well as look for frames for other large pictures that I had yet to get framed, so I put them all in an envelope and took the boys over to Tuesday Morning for some shopping. I remember putting the envelope in the cart, putting Dominic in the cart, then putting Gregory in his infant seat in the cart and heading into the store. Two elderly folks commented on the boys as I entered the store, or rather stopped to laugh at me as I probably ran the cart into a wall and jarred the boys. I remember seeing the envelope in the cart at this time. I entered the store and after browsing for about ten to fifteen mintues I head down the picture frame isle, and reach for the envelope. It's not there. I think my heart fell to floor and I broke out into a cold sweat. There was about three hundred dollars worth of family pictures in that envelope. I turn to Dominic and asked him where the envelope was. "It's hiding" he says. "Where is it hiding" I ask. "On a shelf" he says. So I backtrack through the store and start rifling through shelves, wondering where a three year old would shove an envelope. I looked in the racks of clothes, I was on my hands and knees crawling through the isles. I was getting more and more frazzled and frustrated with Dominic who would tell me something different each time I asked him. Then out of the blue he told me the pictures were "in the fireplaces". There were some freestanding fireplaces right near where I had been browsing. I looked all around, and inside these. At this point I had drawn the attention of the store clerks and they were all helping me look for this grey cardboard envelope. I was in a cold sweat, frustrated, and exhausted. I had absolutely no clue where the darned thing could be, Dominic was of no help and Gregory was due to eat shortly. I left my name and info with the store clerks and drove home. On the way home I said a short prayer, and asked for the help of St. Anthony. "St. Anthony, I know you are supposed to be good at finding things. I know this is of little importance in the grand scheme of things, but if you have any spare time please pray that someone turns this envelope in. Thanks in advance." The next day UPS came by and Jared brought in the packages. I started to get really excited because one of them was the envelope with the pictures in it. He did not understand how it could have been the same envelope, since it had only been 24 hours, and the label said it was from Owensboro, KY. It turns out the envelope I used had the original UPS sticker on it, when it was mailed by my mother-in-law months before. Someone had found the envelope and had given it to UPS who RE-DELIVERED it to me six months after it had originally been delivered. How cool is that!? I was so thankful and relieved, and I thanked St. Anthony profusely as well for his intercession. The person who turned it in never even opened the envelope to look inside; it was completely how I left it. I really wish I knew where Dominic stashed the thing, and which kind soul returned it to me. I returned to the store a week later, and the same clerks were there; they were not the ones that found it.
I had just received the Olan Mills family pictures we had taken in July in the mail and wanted to get frames for them, as well as look for frames for other large pictures that I had yet to get framed, so I put them all in an envelope and took the boys over to Tuesday Morning for some shopping. I remember putting the envelope in the cart, putting Dominic in the cart, then putting Gregory in his infant seat in the cart and heading into the store. Two elderly folks commented on the boys as I entered the store, or rather stopped to laugh at me as I probably ran the cart into a wall and jarred the boys. I remember seeing the envelope in the cart at this time. I entered the store and after browsing for about ten to fifteen mintues I head down the picture frame isle, and reach for the envelope. It's not there. I think my heart fell to floor and I broke out into a cold sweat. There was about three hundred dollars worth of family pictures in that envelope. I turn to Dominic and asked him where the envelope was. "It's hiding" he says. "Where is it hiding" I ask. "On a shelf" he says. So I backtrack through the store and start rifling through shelves, wondering where a three year old would shove an envelope. I looked in the racks of clothes, I was on my hands and knees crawling through the isles. I was getting more and more frazzled and frustrated with Dominic who would tell me something different each time I asked him. Then out of the blue he told me the pictures were "in the fireplaces". There were some freestanding fireplaces right near where I had been browsing. I looked all around, and inside these. At this point I had drawn the attention of the store clerks and they were all helping me look for this grey cardboard envelope. I was in a cold sweat, frustrated, and exhausted. I had absolutely no clue where the darned thing could be, Dominic was of no help and Gregory was due to eat shortly. I left my name and info with the store clerks and drove home. On the way home I said a short prayer, and asked for the help of St. Anthony. "St. Anthony, I know you are supposed to be good at finding things. I know this is of little importance in the grand scheme of things, but if you have any spare time please pray that someone turns this envelope in. Thanks in advance." The next day UPS came by and Jared brought in the packages. I started to get really excited because one of them was the envelope with the pictures in it. He did not understand how it could have been the same envelope, since it had only been 24 hours, and the label said it was from Owensboro, KY. It turns out the envelope I used had the original UPS sticker on it, when it was mailed by my mother-in-law months before. Someone had found the envelope and had given it to UPS who RE-DELIVERED it to me six months after it had originally been delivered. How cool is that!? I was so thankful and relieved, and I thanked St. Anthony profusely as well for his intercession. The person who turned it in never even opened the envelope to look inside; it was completely how I left it. I really wish I knew where Dominic stashed the thing, and which kind soul returned it to me. I returned to the store a week later, and the same clerks were there; they were not the ones that found it.