Finder's Fee

Today, after driving myself crazy looking for something I was sure was somewhere in our apartment, I announced a "finder's fee." After all, sometimes it's worth paying to keep your sanity, or, at least using the resources at your disposal. And sometimes people are just more motivated when you offer them, well, motivation.
 
In the end, my item was found when one child angrily moved the mess of another child and accidentally made the discovery. Had the child with the mess cleaned up, the finder's fee would have landed with the mess child, but, fair being fair, the child who chose to push through is now a few dollars richer, and I have my item, and my sanity, back.
 
Will the no finder's fee child do something differently next time? Maybe. We often change how we do things more because of what we've lost that because of what we've gained. Perhaps I have gained a cleaning up ally. Perhaps just someone who will jump a little quicker the next time. Either way, I've got my item back. And my sanity. Which today was worth every single penny of that "finder's fee."
 
And sometimes, that little outcome, without need for some big, deeper meaning, is more than enough.