When I was about 6 years old, I was playing in the backyard and found a bed of wild clovers. Given that I knew four-leaf clovers brought good luck, I decided to search for one. To my pleasure, I found it fairly quickly. I wondered, ‘Should I wish for something or will my life just be better all the time?’
Before I could decide what to do, the clover slipped out of my hand. I couldn’t find it again among my pile of discards.
I thought to myself, ‘Yeah, right. If it’s such good luck, why did I lose it?’
Days later, when the neighbour girls found their own four-leaf clover and squealed with delight, I coolly nodded while thinking to myself, ‘Suckers.’
Recently
I was walking on the beach Wednesday and very quickly came upon a bright yellow piece of sea glass. My first yellow sea glass ever. It was beautifully buffed, fan-shaped, with parallel ridges running across one side.
(Click either image for a closer look.)
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| NOT THE YELLOW SEA GLASS. BUT THIS ONE GLOWED YELLOW IN THE SUN. A REMNANT OF SAFETY GLASS WITH REINFORCING WIRE INSIDE. |
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| ALSO A GOLDEN BROWN AND NOT THE YELLOW PIECE I FOUND. THIS ONE LOOKS LIKE A SAND DOLLAR. |
I’ve been having some brain chemistry problems recently. Nothing unusual. Just the way my depression works.
As I happily held my glowing treasure, I thought, ‘Maybe this is a good sign.’
I then immediately said to myself, ‘Don’t be ridiculous. There’s no such thing as a good sign! Just be pleased to have found it!’
I continued collecting for a while. I decided to put all the glass except the yellow piece into a pocket of my leather fanny pack/bum bag (that’s a story for another day). I continued walking and pulled my camera from another pocket so I could snap a picture of my treasure.
I then realised the yellow glass was no longer in my hand. I searched my bag. It wasn’t among the other pieces, nor was it in any other pocket. I back-tracked, walking the same stretch of beach three times. I never did find it.
I thought to myself, ‘I’m so glad I didn’t believe in it like I believed in that four-leaf clover.’
I continued walking and collecting until I stumbled upon our wonderful friend Elena. She was enjoying the sun while waiting for her kids to finish volley ball practice. So, Wednesday, I found a treasure on the beach after all. An even better treasure.
And now, let’s all sing along with Mitch…
