A quick trip to Home Depot before a lawn last tonight and I tell ya…my life man. Story time!
I’m already frustrated I can’t find a tool where it SHOULD be. After 3 others who made no effort to actually help me, I find a guy who knows he’s seen it. I tell him I’m leaving as I can’t even find ratchet straps (quit moving shit). My quick stop already ate up 15 min at this point. He tells me the straps are by a register and this is the point where my entire day stopped dead in its tracks…
Behind me I hear “that’s what women do when deciding on nails”. I turn around and this stunning woman is copying my “finger on chin thinking hard” pose. “In the end they’re all the same” she says. I tell her she’s right…and give her a mini strap lesson how they all are cheap crap. The guy comes with my tool…and I’m ready to check out.
“V” we’ll call her checked me out. I notice a butterfly on the back of her arm and comment on it. This is the point where V turns into a flower.
What ensued was a 10 minute conversation about the butterflies journey and how that plays into our lives the same way. I throw down some “only 1 in 1000 make it out of the cocoon” facts and she finished my sentence. We speak of theoretical “deaths” throughout our lives and how the Caterpillar never knows how beautiful it will be.
She tells me her next is a firefly…this is the point I fell momentarily in love. She speaks of the light in darkness in which it resembles…I swore to never marry again buuuut…..
She then tells me about an hour glass…one side day…one side night but upside down. A new day can begin even in the darkest of nights. Fuuuucccckkkk…..
My heart is racing, her accent like a linen blanket on a winter night and she’s deeeeefinitley breaking the social distancing rules which is super fine by me.
I can tell she’s younger but she speaks to me about “one time having it all” which throws me off a bit. Happiness and love. Others ask why her butterfly isn’t colored in. “Darkness can come at anytime and colors constantly change”. Others ask why it’s not a band around her arm hiding a birthmark in the process…”because I don’t want a 360 in life…it takes you right back to the beginning”. I’m speechless. She shows me her arm birthmark…just to the left of her butterfly. Birth…her beginning.
At this point life decided it was time. A shopper comes up behind me ready to check out. I’m still fixated and should have left at this point with dignity but that’s not how I roll. I manage to get age 23 out of her as we both were suddenly pulled back into reality. The shopper, in a mask with her kid glares at me like I’m holding things up. I kind of lip to her “are you single” as the shopper starts acting more annoyed. She smiles and goes back to work…and I wave goodbye. Yes I made it awkward and should have just walked off like a normal person.
It’s shit like that I live for, yearn for, thrive on. Tiny moments…and I can look back and smile upon them at the end of the day. They don’t happen often…but when they do it’s f’ing magical stuff man and makes my aura vibrate and colors swirl.
I sat for a minute in my truck after processing what had just happened. I’m an old man now…who once had it all too. Now going gray with sharp edges formed on my soul. It’s been a while since I’ve been seen…my bucket has dust in it at this point but tonight…for a moment it was just me and her…the only 2 people on this earth. And I heard a drop suddenly hit the bottom of my dusty bucket…
So dearest V…as you continue your journey in life…be sure to never let this world rip those petals off your stem. They make this world less of a dreary place (and they made Home Depot less dreary as well).