Lucky girl

'Tis the season of Football games and Tp'ing.  They go hand-in-hand, almost.  Saturday night we were at Lane's playoff football game.  Madolyn was in the grandstands with her friends.  She bought some M&M's and took out her bottom retainer to eat them.  Put it in her hoodie pocket.  And then...

Let me digress a moment.  Madolyn had retainers in grade school, braces for 18 months (just got them off in August) and is back to wearing the retainers.  The bottom ones all the times, the upper only at night.  For now.  We have been all over her about wearing these retainers because her teeth are beautiful...and it wasn't cheap.  We don't want them moving back into their prior position.

Now, back to the story...  After the game, Jay had promised Mad he would take her and some friends out tp'ing after the game.  They dropped me off at home and away they went. 

I was sound asleep when the tribe arrived home, but of course, that didn't last ten seconds.  Mad came in and told me all about their adventures, and, uh, that she could not find her bottom retainer.  Snap.  I was as alarmed as I could be in my stupor, told her to check her pockets, look in the car, etc.  She had told me she remembered taking them out when she went to eat the M&M's at the game.  I told her we should look in the bleachers, where she was sitting and then went back to sleep.

Sunday morning came, she was still stewing about the missing retainer.  Jay and I told her she would be footing the bill on this one.  She agreed that was fair.  We went to church and then later ate lunch at Jay's parents.

As soon as we were done eating, she asked if I would take her up to the school to search the bleachers.  Off we went.  As we got out of the car, I whispered the prayer, "God, if we're meant to find them, let us find them." And honestly, I was still pretty skeptical.  They had left the game and been all over creation.  That tiny clear plastic piece with a wire could be almost anywhere between the bleachers and Neadmore corner.

We forged ahead.  Mad took to the top of the bleachers where she was sitting with her friends and I started at the bottom of the steps.  She quickly announced it was no use, to which I replied, "You give up way too easy. Keep looking." 

All of a sudden, she says in the most matter of fact, calm voice (much like the "big mouse in your bedroom" comment from two weeks ago), "I found it."  

Lo' and behold, there it was.  She was so relieved.  Her first words were, "Why am I so lucky?"  I said, "Did you pray about it?"  "Yeah, I did, last night."  "Well, so did I as soon as we got out of the car."  

She told me later it wasn't even about having to pay for this one, she was scared her teeth would shift while waiting for a new one to be made.  I am glad she was concerned.  Hopefully, she'll be a little more careful with it from now on.

I don't chalk this one up to luck.  The power of prayer is awesome.  I'm so thankful our god hears even the smallest of cries.