When all is said and done, it's the little things that matter the most, that we find the most valuable. As I was waiting for the elevator at my office this morning, I happened upon a Barbie ballet slipper hidden in a pocket of my purse. How it got there, I'll never know. That tiny, neon pink ballet shoe conjured up visions of my daughter playing for hours on end with Barbies, dressing them, letting them ride her toy ponies and feeding them plastic peas, then undressing them and starting all over again. (Fear not for the role model that Barbie represents for my young daughter -- the collection includes Corporate Barbie and she comes with a blazer, travel coffee mug, and briefcase.) A big smile came across my face and when the elevator doors opened, I was still smiling; the person inside feigned a smile, probably thinking that I was a little too chipper at such an early hour.

A couple of days ago my wallet was stolen. I got on the phone immediately with the bank and the

credit card companies and racked my brain trying to recall every item in my wallet. Were there any checks? My social security card? (Thankfully, no, on both counts.) It took only about 45 minutes to make all the calls and find the location of the nearest DMV office. I made myself a 'to do' list (go to DMV, call credit bureau fraud prevention, get a new Costco card) and then I remembered the photos of my children and husband in a little pocket in the back section of my wallet. My heart sunk. I imagined the heartless soul who would probably just throw my wallet, photos and all, into a dumpster. I spent most of the day trying to process what had happened. When I finally went to bed that night and my mind started to settle, I suddenly remembered the most important items in my wallet: two little notes from my oldest daughter, written in her very best handwriting when she was 5 and 6 years old; one said, "I love you so much" and another said, "Dear Mommy, I love you." Unlike the photos, the little love notes were irreplaceable.

Fortunately, the wallet story has a happy ending. The next day I received an anonymous package in the mail and in it was my wallet. Everything in my wallet was perfectly intact - the credit cards, my driver's license, my Costco card and yes, the 2 little notes and the photos. There was no note inside, no return address, and I noticed that the postage for the priority mail envelope was $4.95 plus another $1.39 for the envelope itself. I imagined that a stranger found my wallet, waited in line at the post office just a few days before Christmas, and paid $6.00 out of his or her pocket to return the wallet to me, a stranger. It became a wonderful

teaching moment for my 10 year old daughter. We talked about the extraordinary kindness of a stranger who asked for no reward, who spent precious time and his or her money to ensure that I got my wallet back. That stranger knew that the little treasures in my wallet meant a great deal to me, treasures that are invaluable to a parent.

Upon learning that I had carried those little notes in my wallet and almost lost them, my 10 year old daughter declared how lucky I was to have them back and admonished me not to keep them in my wallet anymore. But I will keep the little treasures with me always, to carry me through the work day. For behind the 'all-business' exterior of my working life, they remind me that while I have a wonderful career that I'm proud of and that I'm good at, equally important is my role as a loving, dedicated mother and wife. And I wouldn't have it any other way. As for Barbie, I returned her pink ballet slipper this evening.