I found it. Not on my desk. Not in my pen cup. Not in my hand.

Nope... it was in someone else's hand!

I saw it during our meeting today.

There it was... only a few inches away from me. Should I take it away from that person? In the middle of a meeting? And make a scene? It's not a big deal.. or is it?

It's tough to find a good pen that works.

The first year I started reporting I misplaced my pen. I asked the man I was interviewing if I could borrow his. He asked, "what kind of reporter doesn't carry a pen?"

The kind that that lends pens and doesn't carry enough pens! How about that!? Since then, I've armed myself with many a mighty writing instruments and never wanted to be THAT reporter!

But as of late, my favorite writing tools are vanishing... disappearing... without a trace! Here today, gone tomorrow!

I write down notes... important dates... phone numbers... contact names. I need that one go-to pen. The first pen you grab when you need something important to write down. It has a place in that pen cup!

That pen worked. It wrote so smoothly... not blotchy... not clumpy... nice clean ink!

It doesn't have any sentimental value. It wasn't even a gift.

In fact, I got it from my doctor's office. His office has tons of pens you can trust. I mean they're always writing stuff down... prescriptions, appointments, diagnosis. They need something trusty to write with! Something with ink! Something that won't run out on them!

But there it was... in plain sight. It ran out on me.. more like it ran away from me. I'll never see it again. I can't make a scene... It's just a pen!

Ask our intern Priscilla. She laughs at me during every show, "Priscilla where's my pen?" She gets a kick out of that! But, she knows how important it is to my job.

Our associate producer Oscar shares my feelings about pens. We count on him to keep track of time cues and camera shots. He needs a pen! Borrow one of his and he won't leave your side until you return it. I tried it once. 20 minutes... tops. He's dedicated to that pen.

Instead of making a scene, I dipped into the reserves... tucked away in a little pocket inside my bag. This is where the good pens live... not the exPENSive ones... but pens given to me by friends who've travelled and picked "a little something up" from their trip... pens from places I've visited, but may never visit again... and pens I use to write a personalized note... to sign cards. You can't use just any pen.

As the saying goes... "If you love something, set it free; if it comes back it's yours, if it doesn't, it never was." I've decided to let it go. I didn't really LOVE it, I just needed it. And it really wasn't ever mine! So it wasn't meant to be.

We'll make glances at each other. I'll be jealous that it's there... not here. And like any break up, I'll just move on.

Time to look for another pen I can trust... a pen I can turn to for important information... a pen that doesn't mind writing down my thoughts.

Maybe I just need to write my name on it next time.

Hmmm... if I only had a pen!