One Tree not Two

"Love is a temporary madness.

It erupts like an earthquake and then subsides.

And when it subsides you have to make a decision.

You have to work out whether your roots have become

so entwined together that it is inconceivable

that you should ever part.

Because this is what love is.

Love is not breathlessness, it is not excitement,

it is not the promulgation of promises of eternal passion.

That is just being "in love" which any of us can convince ourselves we are.

Love itself is what is left over when being in love has burned away,

and this is both an art and a fortunate accident.

Your mother and I had it,

we had roots that grew towards each other underground,

and when all the pretty blossom had fallen from our branches

we found that we were one tree and not two."

-St. Augustine

Sweetie had a bit of a surprise windfall this week. (Aren't all windfalls a surprise?) He got his firstsocial security check. I think at first it made him feel a tad bit over the hill, but it didn't take long to decide not to look a gift horse in the mouth. My Sweetie is a very modest man. He likes nice things but knows how to wait for them. He's a good waiter. Unlike another rather impulsive one we might know.

Before the check cleared the bank I'd made a mental list of what I thought he should spend it on. Yeh, there are bills to pay, I know that. But what about new shoes? And some other things I think he's waited long enough for. Mr. Slow and Steady Wins the Race had something else in mind. He was headed to the Outlet mall this afternoon and I tagged along thanks to the help of my neighbor who stayed with dad. I thought we were going to buy three pairs of shoes. Of course, I thought about it from a girl's point of view. Color, style, fashion first. Price and fit second. Clearly that is not the way a man goes about outfitting his feet. My man knew what he wanted, though, and wasn't going to buy the first pair of 10 EEE's he saw.

With just two stores down and about 10 more to go, we passed a jewelry store.

Let's go in, he said. I promised you a ring and I want to see what they have.

Promised me a ring? Did that one fly over my head when I was in a weakened emotional state?

[Most of my regular readers know that Sweetie and I got married a few months ago. It wasn't a shotgun affair. It was, however, made kind of on the spur of the moment after a lot of discussion. At the time we were kind of homeless (akin to be kind of pregnant - all or nothing), and the few dollars we had in our pockets were going to have to sustain us til we figured things out. Our wedding was a private inexpensive affair. We bought simple white gold bands and that was good enough for me.]

If he thought he promised me a ring, who am I to argue! So we went in, and looked at all kind of sparkly things that pretty much made me drool. I'm not real into flashy jewels but I'm not ashamed to ooh and ahh when I see things that glitter. We narrowed the search down to one counter that had some of what I liked and some of what Sweetie liked. Then the fun began. I got to try things on. We discarded the ones that were too narrow, too big, or too expensive. After deciding on the one that seemed to be just right, I suggested we continue looking for his shoes and give this ring buying thing time to sink in. Our over-zealous salesman, Terry, got that a look in his eye like we'd just wasted a half hour of his time. He didn't think we'd be back.

Then, in a moment of desire to be just like Princess Di on a very limited budget, I asked Terry, if he had anything with emeralds, rubies or sapphires. His look changed back to one of hope. It was clear he was working on a commission basis and we were the only ones in the store.

OMG! He happened to have just the thing. In my size! As soon as we saw it, both of us agreed, it was my ring. A thin band studded with sapphires AND diamonds. Now I know why Miss Goldilocks was able to sleep so soundly. It feels quite wonderful to have something that is just right. I must say, I am pleased. I feel like shouting from the rooftop, look what my husband bought for me. Mostly I feel very special.

As we headed to the St. Augustine outlets, Sweetie and I continued discussing the kind of tree he'd like to be. He's leaning towards an Elm but wants to do some more research! Whatever tree he picks, I like the idea of "our roots being so entwined that it is inconceivable that the two of us would ever part." In fact I like the symmetry of the whole day. The ring, the love, the roots, and we just happened to be in St. Augustine. Serendipity? You decide.

Wishing for you sparkly things that make you smile,

Merry ME

P.S. Note to myself, start using some lotion on those crocodile skin hands.