In '77, about a year after my folks split up, mom bought a new house. She gave me a key to the front door to let myself in when I got home from school. She stressed the importance of not losing the key, because then she'd have to take off work early to let me in. The next day I got off the school bus, walked up to the front door and reached into my pocket for the key. Only to find it wasn't in my pocket. I had lost my key. The first day. She was mad at me for three days.
