My Umbuh-rella

First off I hate that song.

This post is not about that song.

This post is about an umbrella. One I lost this week.

In 1996 my dad and I went to the Indy 500 together. We went with a couple of my friends and despite the fact that it rained, it was one of my favorite races I ever attended. My dad and I were just hanging out, having fun Indy 500 style and I remember it clearly, during one break of the race bcse of the rain - we were just sitting in the stands - getting wet - and he went to go to the refreshment stand.

He came back with two black and white Indy 500 log umbrellas. We sat under them and laughed about how much they cost - I think they were like $20 a piece in 1996! And we talked while we waited for the race to get going again. Sitting under those umbrellas with my Dad was one of those rare moments you get with your parent once you grow up. Talking to him like he's just a person and he's talking to you like you're a person and it's just good.

It was a great, if rainy day. I have no idea who won the race.

Since then I've carried that umbrella faithfully.

On Thursday, I set it down in the break room while pouring my morning coffee and walked into my office without it. By the time I realized I didn't have it (much later in the day) it was gone.

I was inconsolable.

I cried all the way home from work.

Over an umbrella.

The next day I put up SIGNS at work, begging for the return of my umbrella, pledging not to be angry that someone picked it up on a rainy day (secretly vowing to note that the person was a THIEF once I had identified them) and desperately hoping against hope that it would come back.

By 4pm I had given up all hope - and had decided that losing the umbrella wasn't the end of the world, it was just a material thing and the memory was what really mattered.

While pouring myself my end of day cup of Joe in the break room, our cleaning lady wandered in and said."Oh hey, I've been looking for you all day. I found your umbrella the other day and put it in the janitors closet so that no one would take it."

Thank you cosmos. Thank you very, very much.