The Cyclical Lost Things
House/apartment/flat keys
One memorable disappearance: On evening in 2021 (or around that year), I couldn’t find my keys. I checked my bedroom, the kitchen, the bathroom, the other bathroom, the entryway, the porch, the driveway—and back through the list again. And my keys were still missing.
Then I checked underneath the entryway bench for the third time. Eureka! The yellow lanyard shimmered back into visibility.
Phone
One memorable disappearance: I lose my phone too frequently to remember the times I have misplaced it in my own home. Frequent discovery points include the cracks between couch cushions, the shelf of my clothes closet, and on top of the H-L author section of my bookshelf.
Car Keys
One memorable disappearance: Last week, I drove to Des Moines, IA, from Chicago, IL, and headed straight to the Valley Junction Farmers’ Market after arriving at my friend Katherine’s home. The next morning I planned to meet another friend for breakfast, but I couldn’t leave: my car keys were nowhere to be found. I reorganized my bags and searched every place I could imagine. My keys’ location, as I discovered an hour later? The side pocket of Katherine’s passenger side door.
The Practical Lost Things
Mom’s Bundt Pan
Reason I’d Like to Find It: Father’s Day, Dad’s birthday, etc.
I used this pan for so many cakes—especially for German chocolate cakes, my father’s favorite. When my family’s home in Iowa was sold, the Bundt pan must have stayed behind. None of us have ever been able to find the Bundt pan in the Michigan house. Eventually, my mother bought another pan, but a part of me still wonders whether I’ll spot a familiar aluminum glint in a corner of the basement or storage closet someday.
Stud Earrings
Reason I’d Like to Find Them: Duh, so I can wear them. And not need to buy something else to replace them.
I buy neutral stud earrings about once every year—not often, but not as infrequently as I’d prefer. I still mourn some of the earrings I’ve lost to time, trips, and sink drains: the flat gold ovals, the tiny silver loopies, the minimalist gold circles, the miniature aquamarine squares…
The Other Socks
Reason I’d Like to Find Them: Also duh: I’d like to wear them, not replace them.
Lost socks are among the most famous and the most frustrating of lost items. Why do washing machines devour socks? Why do laundry baskets break at just the wrong place? Why can I never find the matching sock when I most need it?
If fashion trends exist on the Island of Lost Toys, perhaps they’re all wearing the mismatched earrings and socks our past selves misplaced.
The Sentimental Lost Things
Rory the Stuffed Lion
Last seen: Circa second grade.
Rory was purchased from the Omaha Zoo and traveled with my family to our campground before disappearing into the plains of Nebraska. I hope he was found by another child who loved this “press-to-roar” animal as much as I did.
Beaded Ornament of York Minster
Last seen: Circa 2018.
Near the end of my semester in York, England, I purchased an ornately beaded ornament in the shape of the city’s iconic cathedral. I couldn’t wait to hang it on my Christmas tree. The ornament flew safely across the Atlantic, and it moved safely from my college duplex to a Cherry Hill unit to a basement apartment on GR’s northeast side. But sometime during that time (I only lived in that apartment from September to December 2018), the ornament vanished. I still dream of finding it in the crevices of my suitcase someday.
ALSC Award Program, 2023
Last seen: Around 9:30 a.m. on Monday, June 26, 2023.
This June in Chicago, thousands of authors, illustrators, librarians, and publishing professionals gathered for the American Library Association (ALA) Annual Conference. Those of us who love children’s books look forward to Sunday’s illustrious Newbery-Caldecott-Legacy Banquet and Monday’s smaller-but-still-festive ALSC Award Breakfast.
On Sunday night, we hooted and hollered for picture books and novels and the people who make them. On Monday morning, I prepared to do the same all over again. I collected my pastry and cup of tea, then settled into a table alongside several librarians. While munching, sipping, and trading stories of books and libraries, I flipped through the award program, looking for my company’s name and the Batchelder Honor book we were so proud to publish. I clapped and cheered louder than ever when our book’s plaque was bestowed—but couldn’t help but join in the excitement for so many other beautiful titles.
When I returned to Michigan, I unpacked my suitcase and tote bags full of books, bookmarks, and art prints. I expected to find my ALSC Award program among them–but, alas, not. Perhaps the program is tucked inside one of my new books, or perhaps I slipped it into some pocket of my suitcase. Or perhaps it stayed on the table in Chicago, as memorable and fleeting as the sound of hundreds of people celebrating children’s books.
With gratitude to Josh’s “An Autobiography in Favorite Books”
Courtney Zonnefeld graduated in 2018 with a degree in writing. She currently lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where she works for Eerdmans Books for Young Readers. In her free time, she enjoys reading, baking, and saving up for more herb plants. You can usually find her wandering a farmer’s market, hunting for vintage books, or browsing the tea selection in coffee shops.
