Patterns in life are like motifs in stories. One pattern in my life is losing things when I travel! Rarely do I find them again (e.g. when I left my laptop at the security checkpoint at Geneva airport, which was carefully set aside for me until my return!) On my last trip to the States, I left my coat on the train. Explainable? A story behind it? Yes, it was due to a series of distractions. My train from Fribourg to Geneva was canceled, and so was that part of the network for an indeterminate amount of time. I got on and off two other trains because there was so much confusion. I finally found one that went to Yverdon-les-Bains, where I’d take another train to Geneva. Well, on the way to Yverdon, I went to the bathroom and took my backpack with me, but left my coat on the hook by my seat. When I came back, my coat was still there, but when I had to change trains, I was in a hurry to catch the next one and forgot my coat, which I had bought just a few months before. Argh! Distractions are often the beginning of stories…some become real adventures…others are just inconveniences! Motifs usually have a common thread. I’ve been wondering what this pattern in my life is…kind of perplexing and scary!