I'm going to let you in on a secret: my purse is full of rocks.
It should only be full of one rock, a rock I took away from the wonderful boarding school I grew up at. Before they built a bunch of hideous mansion homes on it, generations of students lived there, went to class, rode horses and enjoyed other juvenile pursuits.
It was like Hogwarts with rodeo instead of magic.
I sometimes hold this rock in my hands when I feel doubt. You see, this rock is a physical connection to an earlier time when I had absolute confidence in myself and the world around me.
Today I'm not exactly a self-doubting shrinking violet but when I need a burst of confidence I hold my rock and imagine the warm Phoenix sun beating down on my face and the comfortable shape of Camelback Mountain.
But alas, when I cleaned out my purse yesterday I discovered not one rock but three, a bunch of hazelnuts and one fairly lame twig. And now I don't know which rock is my rock. I assume my kids snuck them in, because I'm definitely not the sort of person to go around putting rocks in my purse.
Well, OK, yes I am, but just the one.
I guess I'll be lugging around three rocks for the rest of my life.
September 24, 2009
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I already knew I liked you, but the rock (and the other 2 rocks and the hazelnuts and twig)
ReplyDeleteis just more icing on the cake.
I'm fairly super jealous of your rodeo boarding school days. Lucky!
Lucky you - I hated hated hated boarding school!
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear about the rock.. can't you just choose one and imbue it with that rodeo magic?
I don't have a handbag but I noticed my pockets are full of: dirt, 20 acorns in a doggie poo bag, some dog biscuits, and those funny blue slip-ons you put over shoes. I've checked in the sticks at the front door.!
Have you ever seen the children's book "Everybody needs a rock" by Byrd Baylor? It's one of my favorites!
ReplyDeleteI agree, everybody needs a special rock!
We just had one rule when the kids were little: they were welcome to take rock souvenirs home from hikes, etc, but mom's purse was off-limits: you had to carry your own... that quickly eliminated the larger contenders!
I love rocks. Hubby picked up a few the last time we hiked in New Mexico and I thought he was saving them for me. Um, no. They were intended for the 10-year old cousin. Oops. I confiscated them.
ReplyDeleteCharming story!
ReplyDeleteMy purse is rock-free... My car, however, is another thing. My SUV burns more fuel than is necessary because of the huge collection accumulating in the back! What is it with little boys and rocks?
ReplyDelete