The police came to my door today.

After dismounting my bike and turning off my blinking safety lights, I went into our cozy suite and sat down after a day at work.  Just as I picked up my computer, there was a terrific knock on the door.

I was a bit annoyed because our friends know they can walk through the first door and arrive at our actual door, and our landlords know this as well.  Nobody else ever comes over, except for the Chinese restaurant delivery guy who came to the wrong house.  He knocked very loudly too.

I got up from my comfy couch, and answered the door.  As I opened it, a man and a woman were standing there.  It's cold today, (2 degrees C) so the woman was bundled in a stylish black pea coat, and the man was in a more functional shell that was lined with some fleece.  There was some sort of pin on the collar.  They both wore toques.

The man held out his hand, and let his wallet fall open to reveal a badge.  He calmly stated, "Vancouver Police.  We're looking for Jonathan."

At that moment, I was a bit afraid that they were coming after me.  But only halfway through the thought, I remembered that I had been a model citizen for the last few months.  Just today, riding home from work, I had even given a friendly wave to the car that stopped for me at a crosswalk.

He then asked me if I was missing anything, and I looked down to see his other hand holding something.  He then reached out, displaying my wallet!  Oh happy day!

On Boxing Day, Carmella and I went downtown and did some shopping.  Your dollar stretches the furthest in January, and even further on Dec 26th.  So we took advantage.  I bought two pairs of pants, and one fully leather belt. 

I also bought a very large Neal Stephenson tome, called Reamde.  It's 1050 pages long, and hardcover.  If the need arose, it would pack a significant punch if hurled at an assailant.  It took up most of my bag, while my keys, wallet, and phone were shoved into the leftover available space.

When I bought my second pair of pants, the cashier asked me if I wanted a bag.  Instead of inheriting more plastic, I decided I was happy to carry the pants out.  I did that with the receipt pinned under my fingers.  I paid for the pants, but that was the last place I remembered having my wallet.

On the 27th, I woke up at about 5:30am to start packing for our snowboarding trip to Rossland.  I noticed I didn't have my wallet.  I looked all over, and couldn't find it.  I called and visited the store where I bought the pants, but it wasn't there either.

Among other advantages, being married means that your spouse has access to the bank accounts.  This means that you can go on a holiday without your wallet!  Off to Rossland we went, and had a great holiday.  On the way there, I cancelled my credit cards and debit cards, and didn't think too much of it again.

While on the trip, I got my license replaced, and got a bank card reprinted.  The other cards would be replaced over time, but I was happy to have these important ones back.

Then, today, about three weeks later, the police came to the door bearing my wallet.  What kind protectors of civil law and order!  They said that someone dropped it off at the station after finding it downtown.  Once it got to me, the only thing missing from the wallet was about $50 of Christmas money.  I'll treat it like a finder's fee.

I'm not sure how I lost it.  My bag was full of other things, so I may have decided to carry it out.  I could have put it on the roof of the car and forgotten about it, letting it slide off the roof as I safely pulled into the street.  I also could have left it at the till of the store, or it could have been squeezed out of my bag due to the huge novel taking up its normal space.

Whatever the reason, I'm happy to have it back!  I'll be extra careful to make sure I have it with me, being even more vigilant in doing my three-check: wallet, keys, phone.  I do that multiple times a day, because I'm so forgetful.  Looks like on Boxing Day, I did it one time too few.

I was happy with the way I handled the situation.  I didn't freak out (too much), and I didn't let it ruin our holiday.  I'm pretty proud of my self, as I have a penchant to worry about everything, especially something like that.  Maybe I'm maturing!

And the picture on my replacement driver's license is better than the one it replaced.