Then he walked through the door with this:
Oh.
This was not exactly what I was expecting.
"Where did you trash pick it?"
"I didn't, I passed by a yard sale."
"You paid money for this?!"
"Yeah, it was only $12!"
I'm thinking we have very different ideas of what a good deal is.
But, the more I looked at it the more potential I saw.
It's a handmade trunk that some little boy had used as a toy box and covered in his sticker collection.
It took me over an hour just to get the top clean and I spent the rest of the day scrapping off stickers when I had a spare moment.
It was really sweet of my husband to think of me. I've been looking for a bench or trunk to keep in our mudroom. It's the perfect place to sit and take off your shoes and then toss them into, out of sight.
I wonder how many people walked by it, thinking it was just a piece of junk.
The owner himself thought it wasn't worth his time.
How many times have I been just as judgemental with things, or worse, with other people.
One glance at the imperfections and I walk away, never seeing the treasure that is hiding inside.
I admit, I did the same thing - when you wrote, "it was only $12!" I mentally smacked my forehead. Ohhh...what $12 could've bought... (a couple good lattes, at LEAST)
ReplyDeleteBut you're right...a couple good hours (and really, JUST a couple hours, and it looks FABulous. Shiny and lovely and still used and old and loved.
(Annoying that he saw the potential before you? I probably would've had a tiny inkling of that somewhere along the way.)
Oh my goodness, that has SO much potential! :) I think that your hubby has an eye! And yes, it was very sweet of him to think of you. Ya know, there have been a few times over the years that I can think of when my husband told me (very excitedly) that he had a surprise for me and I got my hopes up...hundreds of possibilities running 'round in my head. THEN he comes home with said surprise and I'm like...oh. Just like you did. It reminds me very much that so much of what is wrong in our relationships is that there is a level of fantastical expectation that we can never really meet. I feel sad for the times that I have met my husband's excited and hopeful expression with a look of disappointment and sometimes downright bewilderment. Because it really IS the thought that counts. And besides, "perfect stuff" is overrated. I'd rather have a "perfect" love. :) Thanks for the reminder, Crystal. I love your blog. :)
ReplyDeleteI love this idea and even more- I LOVE THIS BOX! it is an exact twin to a toybox I had growing up where kept my hundreds of Barbies! I daresay it's the same one! (Tearing up,sniff sniff)
ReplyDeleteI'm writing this comment mostly in response to what you said about being judgemental towards other peopole...
ReplyDeleteWhen I was the editor of my college yearbook and we were brainstorming the theme for our book that year, I really wanted to give people a book that allowed them to express themselves. Making a long story short, we ended up calling our book "beautifully incomplete." It's still a theme and idea that I cherish and live by. Everyone, and sometimes are cherished trash finds, are so beautitfully incomplete.