“Pattern – Pink” in watercolor and gouache
Happy Friday! If you’ve been around here for awhile, these things are abundantly clear:
1. I sew all the time
2. I write all the time
3. I go to Trader Joe’s all the time
Yesterday, I was at TJ’s as usual, and as usual, I struck up a conversation with the clerk, a compact, sun-tanned and energetic man I would put in his fifties. Maybe it’s because I spend a lot of time alone, but I constantly find myself in deep conversations with shop clerks and crossing guards and baristas.
So the TJ cashier and I start chatting innocuously about the weather, which leads to surfing (he’s a surfer), which leads to natural disasters and BAM, he tells me the sweetest love story and I am practically bawling at the checkout counter. At first he casually tossed out how his wife’s house survived a hurricane in Florida (a house, by the way, that she built by herself from scratch, hauling concrete in a wheel barrow for the foundation) and that she moved out to Seattle just recently. Huh? “Oh, we just got married a year ago.”
The story went like this: they met when they were 11. They dated when they were 14. They grew up, grew apart, married different people, had kids. Decades later, they discovered that they were single again, living thousands of miles apart (him: Seattle, her: Florida) and a couple of years ago he decided to call her up on her birthday. For the next six months, they talked/emailed nearly every day and one day he asked her, “Hey, you want to go to New York?” “Yes!” she said. He flew to Newark, she drove from Florida to pick him up, and there, driving toward the heart of NY, they knew. They decided to get married. He gently placed the last bag in my cart and said, “It was first love, then true love all these years later. Receipt in the bag or with you?”
I can’t get enough of these kinds of stories. I don’t think it diminishes what he had with his first wife and he spoke lovingly of his kids, but I am entranced with the idea of rediscovery and second chances and unexpected happiness in a less talked about phase in life. I left Trader Joe’s swiping at my eyes and feeling very sappy.
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This reference may be lost on those who aren’t familiar with Justin Bieber’s music, but this was a classic K moment:
K: Do you know Justin Bieber?
Me: Yep.
K: Yeah, he’s great. He’s a beaver that really really loves babies!*
*Just in case it wasn’t clear, she thought a beaver was singing the seminal Bieber song “Baby, Baby, Baby”
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Have a terrific weekend, friends! If you are in the US, hope you have a fun-filled long weekend planned.
Memorial Day
marks the end of spring for me
Summer, here we come
I love this story. Love. I agree with your TJ’s account, too, the last time I was there the cashier was practically a life coach. Happy Friday!!!!
I think it’s gotta be part of their training. Day 1: how to work the cash register. Day 2: Pithy remarks and witty stories to share with customers…
HA! I would love to live in K’s world. I love her thinking.
What a beautiful love story… perfect to start my wedding anniversary weekend! We’ve been married for 18 years. Here’s to love!!!
WOW. 18 years…now, there’s a story I need to hear! Happy Anniversary to you and your hubs, Venus!
Sweet love story… Honestly, JB isn’t my star nor his songs. But I just talked to Venus, I want to create JB style on my son by wearing Venus’ sareoul pant! :). Btw, K’s comments crack me up! haha… Happy weekend and happy sewing, Sanae!
I’m not a Bieber fan either, Yeka, but the 6 and under set are obsessed. Ooh, can’t wait to see your version of the sareoul pattern – I’ll be making a pair in the near future too!
such a sweet story! and i love that he is so enthusiastic about sharing it with strangers.
It really was very endearing, Julia – he looked so happy while telling the story!
I think if we lived in the same city, I would be talking to you at Trader Joes. 1. My family jokes that I could befriend a rock if I sat next to it long enough. Meaning, I am overly friendly with clerks and librarians, and especially grandmothers because they hold a special place in my heart. &2. I am a sappy type person. I hate tragedy, and therefore choose to ignore the news & instead enjoy looking for good in people& life. It seems that sentimental stories and situations are my biggest weakness for tears. I find random people and I connect with them. Oh, you homeschool? ME TOO! Oh, you enjoy reading? or … gardening. Or … (insert one of my many hobbies/interests). Yep, we are cut from the same cloth I’d say.
Mae
Librarians! Now that’s one I haven’t snagged into conversation yet, though grandmas and I can get thick as thieves.
We would chat up a storm if we ever ran into each other at a TJs, Mae!
you’re like a cool-story magnet, Sanae! Or maybe it’s because you’re such a gifted story-teller yourself that you recognize a good story when you hear it. Good for you for really listening and being present at that moment.
I just love hearing people’s life stories – I think they’re all interesting/fascinating! I’m always amazed at how unexpected people are…
Ha! My son thinks that JB’s name is Justin Beaver too. “No, Mom, it’s Justin BEAVER.”
So hilarious! I keep imagining a beaver with Bieber hair!
Thank you Sanae! I love your happy Friday + randomness posts. This one in particular came in the perfect spot of my life, not the second marriage though, but how you translate to humanity. Happy long weekend to you!
Thank you, Maria! Rediscovery, second chances and unexpected happiness are all welcome at any stage in our lives, yes?