What are you thinking? How irresponsible? How typical of a teen? Sounds like me?

We were at SouthPark Mall a couple of days ago, and we had separated in order to get the most done in the least amount of time. And true, I didn’t want to hear about how cute her candle that smelled like a cupcake is, nor did I want to hear about how rose-gold must be perfect because it’s the combination of rose and gold, two of her favorite things.

I love her, but it had been a long day. Fifteen is a wonderful age of innocence edged with reality. I was feeling 54.

About 45 minutes in, I get a call. Unknown number. It’s my daughter. She has lost her phone at Victoria’s Secret. More specifically, she lost her Delia’s bag and she had put her phone in the bag. It was gone.

I head to Victoria’s Secret. She and the kind folks who work at Victoria’s Secret had scoured the place. But I had learned from the man who helped me find my lost car at the airport last month (ha!) that you start by retracing your steps. So we did.

Forty-five minutes later, I too agreed that it was no longer in the store. We knew she had it when she entered the store. We decided to go to Delia’s to see if anyone had turned it in there.

On the way to Delia’s, the bright spot of my day was when a little girl was pretending to be a mannequin in the window of The Limited store. She looked incredibly adorable, and familiar. I popped my head in the store, and yes, she was the daughter of friends of mine. But no time to chat, I told them I was on the hunt for my daughter’s lost phone and carried on.

For all you problem solvers out there, let me just say that we took care of the loose ends. There was a reason the phone was in the bag, we did contact mall security, etc.

The last thing I did was text her phone. Although it was locked, you could still see text messages if you found it. I texted asking the finder to call my number, please!!!

At this point was where the magic happened. My daughter had been the perfect balance of mortified and calm. She had handled everything with cool confidence. She had gotten help. She notified authorities. She had searched thoroughly, had not fallen apart, and stayed kind through the whole thing.

What a gift. To know she could handle crisis, and come up with a plan. Then come up with a plan for going two months without a phone. She looked and found the bright side. Even if we never find the phone, it’s one of those life lessons that showed me how she shines.

We were two blocks from home when my daughter answered my cell. Someone had found her phone. She made the arrangements to meet them at a closed Bruegger’s Bagels store. Hmmm. I called my husband to let him know where we were meeting strangers, just in case.

After 15 minutes in the cool night air, who pulls up in the dark blue van we were waiting for?

My friends I saw in the mall.
Magic or incredible coincidence?
Let me stress that this is a big mall.

Someone left the bag on the hood of my friends’ van. Everything was still in the bag… the phone, the Delia’s purchase, coupons. Everything.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Then magic happened for the third time that night. My daughter reached into her wallet and gave their little girl the Bruegger’s Bagel gift card I had given her for Christmas.

Happy Mom sigh.

I love when challenging things happen, because that’s when the magic occurs. We have a chance to see what bubbles up so we can examine it.

And I don’t mean my daughter’s dealing with it. I am talking about your thoughts when you read the headline that a teenager had lost a cell phone. What was your thought? What were your thoughts as the story played out? And what do those thoughts mean to you?

Your turn to make magic.