Sunday Scribblings #152: Lost

Gotten lost in the woods? Driving? Lost a child in a store? Lost something else of value -- found it again? Lost souls, lost innocence . . . write about the word "lost."

When I read this week's prompt was "lost," the first thing that came to mind were the words from the famous song Amazing Grace "I once was lost, but now I'm found." But what could I write about the song--I supposed most people already knew the story behind the song.

My second thought was about an incident that occured last fall when Sunshine and I were traveling through northern Arizona. But, no, thought I, other Scribblers are probably growing tired of reading stories like that.

So, what can I write about "lost"? I asked myself. Okay, I know--I'll write about a lost art. Sunshine is attempting to learn to tat. Surely tatting is a lost art and the subject would make an interesting post. Why, I could even include some pictures of future projects.

But no, I kept coming back to the Arizona story. Yesterday was a busy day and I was unable to write. So this morning I woke up, still pondering what to write about when I remembered a very special anecdote about my father that had been related by my uncle at Dad's funeral service.

It seems my Dad, Mom, her parents and younger brother (my uncle) were going on a short trip. My Dad was driving and at some point in the journey, it appeared they were lost! To this day, my Mom is very high-strung and easily stressed. Apparently, she started freaking out. My Dad, always laid-back, purportly replied, "We may be lost, but at least we're going the right direction."

How I enjoyed the story. It had made me smile even during the funeral service. I always meant to write about the incident, but never got around to it. Sometime later, I felt a little sketchy on the details and asked my uncle to recount the tale. He couldn't remember. I asked my husband. He couldn't remember, either.

Why didn't I write about the account when it was still fresh in my memory? I asked myself. To think I almost lost a story that was really important to me simply because I hadn't taken the time to write about it.

Perhaps that is why I like to write stories about things in my life. Maybe this is my way of keeping the memories from becoming lost.

Well, I must go now. I have a story to write. This one is about a trip Sunshine and I took to Arizona last fall...

"Lost in Flagstaff"

It was a dark and stormless night...

Visit Sunday Scribblings to read more on the subject of "lost."