Corner View: Somewhere Else

Last Saturday I woke up to a beautiful morning so August and I took our walk around the neighborhood much earlier than usual. I set out at 9:59am. There were garage sales all over the place and we stopped at each one of them to look and chat. There were so many knick-knacks and relics from my childhood: old Avon perfume bottles, faded Tupperware sets, macrame wall hangings, boxes full of polyester fabric, handmade Christmas ornaments, cassette tapes, mix tapes, plastic baby dolls made in Hong Kong, Time-Life cookbooks... Our walk began weaving in and out between the past and the present. The memories started to transport me somewhere else but the blue sky and August's questions and observations would bring me back.

While chatting with a charming woman about quilting, sewing and her collection of measuring spoons, I asked her if she does a lot of baking. She answered that she once did, that she once did a little bit of everything. From what she had for sale on her driveway, she did. She gave me a Christmas tray, a cute set of measuring spoons, several yards of a pretty, flowery, light weight cotton material she wanted to turn into a sundress and oh so many thoughts. I am right were she had been, trying and doing a little bit of everything, the baking, the sewing, craft projects. Her baby was a few years older than me and came out to say she would return later to help her put things back in the garage.

August reminded me that I promised her time at the playground. It was just across the street from the driveway that had just manage to fill me with all sorts of philosophical ruminations... under a clear blue sky. Feeling like we had already been out for several hours and all morning long, I checked the time. 10:45. We had only been out 45 minutes. I headed for the playground checking the time again, puzzled. Where had we been for what seemed like hours and hours, but not even one hour? I went over the conversations I had with people in the neighborhood, the singing with August, all those questions I answered for her, stopping for birds, squirrels and flowers, photographing an oak bed I wanted to maybe purchase. It didn't add up. At the playscape I showed August the time and told her we'd leave once the time read 11:15. She flipped over while swinging on her tummy, poor thing. We headed home at exactly 11:00.


8 Comments:

Blogger likeschocolate said...

Time has a funny way of playing tricks on us.

Wednesday, May 06, 2015  
Blogger shayndel said...

How sweet and to think, if you filled up such a world and a lifetime in such a short time, each day is and amazing treasure chest!!

Thursday, May 07, 2015  
Blogger nadine paduart said...

i smile, for time is constant, yet we so are not. just like time seems to fly by mostly, there are moments in our lives like time warps, where everything seems to stand still. i'm sure it can be explained scientifically, probably. but it is always so surprising when it does happen.

so comforting too people seem to lead similar lives around the globe! your notalgic memories do match mine, when i roam brocantes and / or garage sales and the lot. it is a way of connecting! we are all human, no matter where and how. which brings us so close...
n♥

Thursday, May 07, 2015  
Blogger Francesca said...

Today i'm inclined to see the glass half empty, Tera, and - can you imagine - all those lives and all those moments amount to just a few minutes, under an hour? I do wonder why that lady never did complete her projects ...

Monday, May 11, 2015  
Blogger Unknown said...

How do I create such a time warp? There are so many days I wish for exactly what your Saturday morning brought.

Monday, May 11, 2015  
Blogger Tera said...

Francesca: We are tiny drops in an ocean is how I can explain it. How long does it take to explain any war or how empires fell. The woman didn't complete a quilt and a sundress but she seemed to have many interests and her array of belongings included craft supplies not so much unfinished projects. The quilt would have been gorgeous but made up of tiny squares. We talked about how difficult quilting can be and how it never seems to be :)

Tuesday, May 12, 2015  
Blogger Tera said...

Rachel: I don't know how that happened but it happens to me every now and then. Sometimes waiting for a bus, I feel it's bee a half hour for sure and only a few minutes have gone by.

Tuesday, May 12, 2015  
Blogger Heather said...

I hope August is okay!

And isn't time a funny thing? You are quite right - we (and our lives) are but drops in the ocean.

Wednesday, May 13, 2015  

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