OK, flatware--it isn't silver, it's stainless steel. And I've had it for...mm, probably 44 years? It has 8 each of knives, forks, teaspoons, soup spoons, and salad forks. Not expensive--in fact, my brother got it as a premium for opening a savings account and he gave it to me! But I like it. It feels right in my hand.

So this morning I went to get a spoon for my yogurt, and there weren't any "good" spoons left. I couldn't believe we used 8 teaspoons yesterday afternoon, so I looked in the sink. Six teaspoons. Huh.

So I went back to the drawer and counted the other pieces: 8 knives, 7 forks, 6 soup spoons, 7 salad forks.

Well, I don't count my flatware every day, or even every month. It's probably been years since I've had 8 people around the table at once. So who knows how long the other pieces have been missing?

What's bugging me is...what happened to them? I poked through the rest of the drawer, but they're just gone. Did I really accidentally throw away SIX utensils? It's highly unlikely one of my children shoplifted them. I didn't leave them in a canister or other food container. I don't believe in poltergeists. They didn't get sucked into the washing machine like socks. I do not like unsolved mysteries.