Uh, oh.

My parents entrusted me with the second of the safety deposit box keys that they had. Apparently the bank said it is best for them to keep one and to give the other to a trusted relative.

They seem to think I'm a "trusted relative". I'm not sure why. About 7 years ago they lived in West Virginia and opened a safety deposit box there. Not that they have a lot worth putting in a safety deposit box. I don't think they're too worried about me getting anxious for my inheritance and killing them off or anything. I think mostly their wills and a few other things are in there. Hmm, come to think of it...maybe I should visit the safety deposit box just to be sure! (kidding!)

Anyway, since I'm supposed to be the "responsible" daughter (side note...not that my sister is "irrisponsible", but I've been more stable than her until now as far as my personal life. You know, married 12 years and that sort of stability. When they made out their wills even though she is the older one, they named me executor because she wanted no part of it.) they thought I would be the most logical "trusted relative". So, they gave me the key back when they lived in West Virginia, too. And I put it in my file cabinet. What other logical place would it go? Even though it was small, I thought it would be safe in the "Legal documents, marriage certificates, etc." hanging file.

Except I wasn't smart enough to realize that hanging files have slits in the side.

When they moved from West Virginia and closed the safety deposit box they needed the key back. No Problem! I went to the file cabinet and opened it to the "legal documents" file right where I left it. But it wasn't there. So, I spent 2 hours ripping every file apart and turning the file cabinet upside down. I never found it.

Then I was left with the task of telling my parents I couldn't find it. I offered to pay the $50 replacement fee, but they refused. They said it was anyone's mistake and not to worry about it. I even gave them the pouty lip and puppy dog eyes so they would let me pay and clear my conscience. I guess they wanted me to take it to my grave because they still refused and paid it themselves.

So, they are now full-time RVers. They changed to a bank that had branches all over the US. Much against their better judgement they gave me the key for their new box. We all had a nice laugh when they handed it to me. My dad gave me a stern "don't lose it this time" and laughed. I said "OH, I won't. Believe me". I taped it to the side of the desk. I figured the desk wasn't going anywhere, there's no way I could lose it. Right?

So, fast forward a year to last May. We moved. Remember the desk? We decided it was too bad of shape to make the move so we put it in the burn pile. Did I even THINK about the key? Noooooooooooo!

But WAIT! There's More!

After we loaded all of our stuff and were headed down to Houston for the last time, Bryan pulls out a key from his pocket. He says "Do you know what this is? It was just laying on the floor in the spare bedroom we used for an office". Lo, and behold...it was a SAFETY DEPOSIT KEY!

I breathed a sigh of relief! What a close call! RIGHT?

But WAIT! There's More!

I was up at the wee hours this morning because of a case of insomnia. The key was sitting TAPED to the file cabinet. And something possessed me to look at it. And I realized it said "Blah blah Bank, WEST VIRGINIA"

HOLY CRAP! IT'S THE OLD KEY, NOT THE NEW ONE!

So, now I get to go sheepishly back to the folks like I did as a teeneager telling them I did something wrong. I have to tell them I lost the key. Again. Maybe I should say "But the good news is I found the other one I lost!" Yea, that will go over well, now that they spent the $50. About as well as saying "But the good news is I saved a bunch of money on my car insurance by switching to Geico!"

I'm pretty sure I'll lose the "trusted relative" status after this one. I might even be grounded.