All That Glitters

I learned today the Korean jewelery shop has been operating in the K-Mart shopping plaza for 35 years. I've been taking watches for new batteries, bracelets for new clasps, necklaces to be shortened for 32 of those years. I've never made a valuable purchase of anything. But the service I receive always is solid gold. With a smile.

As I waited for my watch battery today, a lady came in, pulled out two string of pearls and said, " you will think this is something I bought at a dime store but it isn't. It's old and I may have worn it on my wedding day and want to keep it. But its too small. I must have been awfully skinny.Can we extend them somehow....?"

I was struck by two things.
 She knew exactly if she wore it on her wedding day or not.
 And we are all so shamed by our grubby little possessions when placed on a black velvet pad.

Dandelion wine

On lazy summer childhood days my friend and I would loll on the grass, dreaming of what we would be, how many children we would have, who (giggle) would we marry. And we would pluck nearby dandelions and hold them under our chins to check whether or not we "liked butter"!

We had no thought of deadlines, agendas, spreadsheets, pensions, bank accounts.

Just whether or not a soft yellow glow would appear on our skin.

Heady.

The Reston Farm Market opened for the season today. It is two steps and a dandelion from my front door. Its stalls bulge with strawberries, croissants, basil, goat cheese, kosher meats, flowers, lettuces, pickles, Blue Grass pickers, political booths -  a swirl of sophistication, cultures, languages, Gucci bags, tropical tans, toned bodies and fat wallets.

While in PA two weeks ago, I stopped at a little roadside stand by an Old Order Mennonite farm and bought rhubarb, raw honey, sugar peas, and asparagus that oozed fresh cuts and crumbles of soil. The lady smiling at me wore a simple long dress, sleeves rolled up, large apron and head covering. We spoke of the spring morning , the birds singing around us and the smell of the fresh manure from the Amish fields.

I'm part of both worlds and grateful for each.

But by contrast, one was bare-bones real. And as pure as the iris unfolding by her gate.

I thought it was a consultation about crown lengthening.

It turned out to be surgery.

I turned out to spend the day in bed with my new best friend vicodin.