Don't lose this.

The purse.  I didn't let it out of my sight, but I did put it down to photograph it.

True Confession:  I live in fear of being responsible for something important.  This may come as somewhat of a shock to the parents of my students, given that we all agree they're important, so I guess I should qualify my statement.  I am the absolute QUEEN of putting important things "someplace safe," only to forget their whereabouts when the important thing is needed.  If we're flying, attending an event requiring tickets, etc., my life is so much better if I know someone else has taken care of being responsible for the tickets.

So when my friends hand something to me, trusting that I will care for said item in their absence, well, I become almost obsessively paralyzed with fear.  Case in point - over the weekend, I attended my Goddaughter's wedding.  Rosemary is the daughter of my best friend from high school, and the wedding was held at the same church where Bruce and I were married, followed by a reception at our reception destination as well.  The gardens were beautiful, the mansion was gorgeous, and there was a constant flow of both attendees and wait staff milling about with silver trays and yummy offerings.  Suffice it to say, that a chained evening bag on the shoulder of the mother of the bride was quite a burden when attempting to greet guests.

"Hold this for me?  It's filled with a ridiculous amount of cash."  Seriously?  Okay, we're best friends, and I'm here to totally support you in any way possible on this day that is riddled with stress and emotion as you give your baby away and host the perfect garden party.  I took a picture, primarily to prove that I had the purse at one point, and as a potential photo to share with the police when  if the purse were to disappear.  

Apparently I'm a trustworthy person, no matter what I think about myself.  Almost five years ago, I was at the collation after my friend Molly's husband's funeral, when she approached me with a small gift bag.  "Watch this for me."  Great.  Another day where my primary assigned job was to be as supportive and available, and this was my assignment.  Honestly, I've been a super supportive friend to many -- I'm the one that has, on more than one occasion, held the bride's dress over her head in the handicapped stall while she pees.  And, apparently, I'm also the one who is responsible for keeping track of the ashes of the recently departed.

I didn't lose the bag or the ashes, and the gratuities in the beautiful evening bag presumably were delivered without incident, but my fear of losing something important, or letting someone down is nowhere near abated, after these two successful incidents.

My last day of school was Monday, although I was in the district again yesterday finishing things up.  Yesterday and today has been reserved for going through the piles of things that I felt needed to be addressed over the summer -- such as curriculum prep -- and paperwork that must be completed prior to the start of school, including some insurance form that must be signed and returned to the district before the start of school.  

And in my closet are bins marked START HERE TO START THE YEAR, so that I have a clue when I next enter my room.  I may visit my classroom a couple of times each month, just to make sure I know where everything is.

Let's just hope that I still consider the things in those bins to be the most critically important!