Spitting Into the Wind

If your family is anything like ours you have no less than 6 remote controls around for all the gadgetry in the lounge-room and bedrooms. There's nothing more frustrating than losing one, except perhaps when you're trying to find the right one!

On Christmas day I gathered up all the wrapping paper and put it straight out in the recycling bin, because it was getting emptied the next day. The first couple of days, after a quick search, I wasn't too concerned about not finding the TV remote. We went away for a few days and when we got home I did a pretty thorough search for the missing remote. I was beginning to think I might have picked it up with the gift wrap and we'd never see it again. For the first couple of weeks during January I continued to search the house in the hope of finding the remote. One day I got Alex to help me to lift up the lounge (a big, heavy, 3-seater), and sure enough, there it was. I was so happy. Now we could go back to being lounge lizards and not have to get up every time to change channels or turn the volume up or down.

About the 4th week in January, I gave Alex's room the best cleaning its ever had. We hauled everything out of there except the furniture, and proceeded to sort things in the lounge room. I ended up with a huge pile of remote controllers for old cars that went into the bin, along with lots of piles for the bin and charity. Lauren called in with Zeke when the mess was everywhere in the lounge room, so we quickly took all the piles to either the car or the bins, and the next day I couldn't find the TV remote again.

This time I went out and nearly emptied the garbage bin trying to find it but with no luck. I lifted the lounge, I checked under every pillow and cushion, behind the furniture, everywhere I could think. I became the butt of many a joke about the lost controller. I still hadn't completely given up hope that it would turn up again, and today I got home from work and Alex had found it. Down beside a cushion on the lounge, that I'm sure I've checked a dozen times.

When we can't find the handset for the phone, there's a button you can push that makes the handset beep. I wish someone would come up with something similar the the TV remote.