lesson learned. kind of.

Want to hear a funny story? Great.

Seven years ago I was watching "It Takes a Thief." The program follows two former thieves, who attempt to teach people how to protect their property, by essentially robbing them. In this particular episode, the theives got a hold of a garage door opener. Upon checking the garage, they saw there was a car in there. They were super pumped, because not only were they getting to steal a car but it also made for a faster get-away with more stuff, since they could pack the vehicle.
"When you leave for a vacation, be sure to put your garage door opener somewhere where no one would think to look for it. Don't leave it in your car, or near the door. Those places are too obvious," they told the audience.

A week later, my family was planning to leave for a family vacation to Washington D.C. I was a fairly new driver, but was still granted a coveted spot in the garage. Which meant I was the sole care-giver for one of our two garage door openers. And while we were gone, I didn't want my car stolen. I didn't want to be responsible when someone broke into our house and took every expensive item they could find away in my car, all because I left the garage door opener in an obvious spot while we were away. So I did what every logical, "It Takes a Thief" watcher would do...I hid it. I hid it real good.

Enjoying our trip, having no idea what waited for us at home.
Well, more like what didn't wait for us.

I hid it so good in fact, that when we got home, I couldn't find it.
I probably tried to hide it for a few days, but after a while it became apparent that I no longer had my garage door opener. I had to come clean.
"Uh...Mom? Dad? Well...here's the thing...I don't exactly have the garage door opener anymore. Don't worry, it's not lost. It's just that...I hid it. I hid it before we left and I can't remember where it is. And I can't find it anywhere."

My family looked EVERYWHERE for that thing. It was a huge inconvenience not having it.
After a few weeks, it was clear that I had hidden it really well. This thing was not showing up.
After a few months, I was no longer able to park in the garage. [Darn it.] And we pretty much all wrote that garage door opener off.
It would come up every once in a while over the next few years, "Hey Nancy. Remember when you were brilliant and hid the garage door opener?"
"Yeah, 'member when our house WASN'T robbed and my car WASN'T stolen with all your valuable possessions in it because of me and my wise decision to hide the garage door opener? Yeah? That's what I thought! You're welcome."

Well, I got a call from my dad a couple of weeks ago.
"Guess what I found..." he said.
I knew right away.

My parents are planning to move from their house, my childhood home, in the fall. So they're getting rid of all their stuff and tying all the lose ends before selling it. So a few weeks ago, my dad was taking out the old bathroom vanity and noticed something kind of funny. And there it was, the garage door opener. Perched behind the wooden divider of our bathroom vanity.
I'm so smart.
Or rather, 17 year-old me was so smart.

But I learned my lesson. Definitely not the lesson that the former thieves tried to teach me via "It Takes a Thief." But rather, the exact opposite. When the day comes that I once again am trusted with a garage door opener, it will always be in the most obvious spot imaginable. It'll be out in the open with neon lights pointing to it saying, "I'M HERE! THE GARAGE DOOR OPENER IS RIGHT HERE!" I have learned to NEVER leave it in a place that someone wouldn't think to look. Cause you know what happens when you do that? That thing doesn't see the light of day for seven years.

Currently playing on the record player: Nothing, because HELLO, the Olympics are on. THE OLYMPICS!!