How far would you go to retrieve a missing phone? As far as it takes, I learnt

May 28, 2026 — 5:00am

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It was a Saturday night and my partner was shaking me awake.

“What is it?” I asked blearily, struggling to open my eyes. He pointed to the bedroom door, and there was my daughter, home from her party.

“What time is it?” I mumbled.

“About one,” he said.

It is never good to be woken at 1am.

“Mum,” my daughter was saying. “Wake up! I’ve left my phone in the Uber!”

I was very deeply asleep, but the word “phone” sprung me into action. My kids have lost many things in their time (as, admittedly, have I). We’ve lost jackets, jumpers, jewellery, keys, purses, and even cars (though the cars tend to turn up, definitely NOT where I parked them).

But phones are different. My daughter is deeply attached to her phone. And, to be honest, the prospect of her being phoneless in the world – and me, potentially, not being able to contact her at will – made me deeply uneasy.

I called my daughter’s phone but it rang out. I called again. No answer.

“Can we call the Uber driver?” I asked her.

“My friend ordered the Uber.” she said.

“Can you call your friend?”

“I........

© The Age