A lost credit card can elevate my anxiety level to the panic mode. Unfortunately, it happens more often than I would like.  A few hours after I’ve been to the store,   I open my wallet, and find a blank slot where my credit card belongs.  My stomach tightens.  I take a deep breath.  What if it’s been found in a parking lot,  and someone is charging thousands of dollars to my account?   I dash out to the car, look under my purse, frantically open drawers and claw through papers on my desk.  Sometimes I find it right away. But if I don’t, look out. Panic attack! Lost credit card. 

 I explain my erratic behavior to my husband.  Here’s a man who has never lost a credit card in his life. When we were first married, he would join in my search, worrying along with me.  Especially if it happened to be our joint credit card.  But now, he faces the crisis calmly.  First, he assures me that it probably hasn’t been stolen, simply misplaced.  He advises me not to report the card lost for at least an hour or so, which gives me time to calm down and retrace my steps.   

Why does this happen to me?  It started about 30 years ago, when I got mugged in a parking lot, and my purse was stolen.  It was a scary experience, with a sinister looking man who also tried to get in my car.  As he rattled the door handle, I  jumped out and screamed.  He grabbed  my purse from the front seat and took off in what turned out to be a stolen car.  After that, I vowed never to take my purse into a store.  I always put my credit card in a back pocket, and never pay with cash.  Most of the time, I remember to put the card away  when I get in the car, or after I’m home.  But sometimes, I get preoccupied and forget what I’ve done with it.   

Finally, I call the credit card company.  Why are they not surprised?  Probably because they know it happens to me about two or three times a year.  Or maybe it’s a more common experience than I realize.  I cringe when I place an order on Amazon, and see all the “expired” credit cards listed on my account.  They aren’t expired at all. They were lost by a  scatterbrained woman.   

Often, I find the credit card later. But I’m still mad at myself.  I devise procedures that will ensure this will not happen again.  Once, I went two years without losing a credit card.  Then I have a relapse, and may lose two or three a year. I’ve decided there are three  categories of people in this world.  People who have never lost a credit card, those who seldom do, and then the day dreamers like me..

 There must be a lot of losers, because the credit card representatives seem to take it in stride.  Lately, they’ve begun offering to block my account while I look for my credit card.  But I know it’s only a matter of time until it happens again, and I will have another  panic attack over a lost credit card..