When Dad died, my sister and I wanted to sell his house quickly. In order to clear it out, I invited people from work and neighbors to go in the house and take what they wanted. It made a hard job easy. Within a week, I had it cleared and ready to sell.

About two weeks ago, one of the teachers from my school told me she had found something among the items she took from my parents' house, that I might want. She described it to me, but it didn't ring any bells. She said it was a clear cylinder embossed with a monogram at one end. I told her to bring it to school, and let me see it.

A few days passed, and I totally forgot about the cylinder. Then, the teacher caught me in the hall and handed it to me. Sure enough, it was an acrylic cylinder about four inches long with the monogram BBG engraved on one end. That would be both of my parents' first names, Barry and Glory, and our surname, Baker. Beyond that, I had no clue what I was looking at.

I asked the teacher, and she told me she thought it was probably used to stamp the monogram on things. That didn't seem right to me, as it would stamp the monogram in reverse. I continued showing it to others and asking their opinions. There were several suggestions, including creating wax seals on envelopes. I even used the librarian's ink pad to demonstrate to a few people that it would print the monogram backwards. The mystery persisted.

Back at my desk, I put the cylinder on a stack of papers and got back to work. I checked emails, made phone calls, and worked on some documents. Then, just as I was ready to push my chair back and leave my desk, my eyes got caught on the cylinder laying on its side on that stack. The writing underneath it was HUGE! I had accidentally discovered that the cylinder was a magnifier. That made perfect sense. The teacher who found it had taken Mom's microwave cart full of kitchen utensils, dishes, and cooking pots. Mom and Dad must have gotten the magnifier as a gift. Mom stuck it in the drawer to use when reading her cookbooks.

After school, I went to the room of the teacher who had returned it to me to share my discovery. Soon another teacher came in the room. I took the cylinder out of my pocket and asked her if she had any idea what it was. She quickly answered, "It's a magnifier. My mom has one just like it." If only I had talked to her earlier in the day!

When I got home, I put Mom's magnifying cylinder in my kitchen utensil drawer. Rachel and I will use it now. I just can't help wondering if there will be another repeat of the mystery when we pass. Maybe I'll break the chain and show it to my boys.