What was lost, shall be found!

When Aylee turned Seven years old - about 18 months ago, she was very excited to get her very own Soccer Ball. Aylee is big on sports and is good at a variety of physical activities. One of her enjoyments is playing soccer. Well, in elementary school, you are pretty cool if you can bring your own soccer ball to recess. Aylee was really excited to take her ball to the school and play soccer with it between their class times.

Aylee took her ball a few times, but after a few days, she came home without the ball. Amber asked what she had done with it. Aylee was pretty upset. She said that they were practicing kicking the ball in a circle and one of the kids accidentally kicked the ball over the fence. She claimed that they searched hard for it but never found it. I calmed her down and told her that I would go and help her find it.

After dinner we got to the school. She showed me where it had gotten lost. Well, it just so happens that on that side of the playground there is a dense forest of thorny weeds, cattails and a culvert full of slimy water buried beneath the greenery. We searched for about an hour to no avail. We counted the ball as lost and tried to console Aylee.

Just last week (18 months later), Aylee came home with the ball in hand. The ball was deteriorated a bit, but you could faintly see the faded black permanent marker notation of Aylee's name. She told her that one of the kids at the school had found the ball while exploring. After a year and a half, that ball has returned home!