Growing up, I used to think the phrase “you’d lose your head if it wasn’t attached” was developed just for me. That’s how often my mother said it to me.

I can’t imagine what she’d say to me now if she were still alive. I lost my iPod last week.

As the time neared to board my plane in Chicago the other day – I was in town for a work conference – I made my final preparations. I reached into my pocket for my iPod so I could listen to a few podcasts on the flight.

But it wasn’t there. I rolled my eyes at myself and opened the outside pocket of my carryon. I must have thrown it in there when I put all the various charging cords I had to bring with me for the three-day trip. I rummaged around with no luck.

That’s when fear started to set in. Not real fear, mind you, but the kind that makes you realize you did something stupid and might be up the river without a paddle. The fear that makes you appreciate all the other times you came close to losing something but made one last check of your surroundings at the last second.

I thought I had done that when I checked out of my hotel room. I thought I had done that after I removed my items from the security bin at the airport. I hadn’t thought to check my pockets when I got out of the cab so my iPod could certainly have fallen out there.

But the reality is that I have no idea where I lost the music player I bought four years ago. The hotel doesn’t have it in its lost and found, which was my only real hope for a return. The iPod has no identifying information so someone out there has a new old iPod.

Don’t worry about me, though. I have decided to upgrade to an iPhone, albeit one where I pay a hefty price up front so i can use the cheaper monthly service which Virgin Mobile offers. My iPod-less pain will end this afternoon when the phone arrives. I’m worried though – the online tracker says the package was put on a truck at 8:11 a.m. and there is no delivery conformation three and a half hours later it was delivered three and a half hours later (right after I posted it was not delivered yet).  Glad they didn’t lose it. Don’t they know that’s my job?