mother nature is a man and other observations..

40 years ago in Paris. We were in our 30’s. Paris is romantic at anytime of the year. This was April in Paris, and my husband wanted to buy me something special, to remind me of spending my birthday in France. A sterling silver large link bracelet was my chosen gift. The elegant shop was on the very beautiful Champs-Elysees. The price was outrageous for sterling silver. $75.00. It was exquisite. Practicing Buddhism, we are taught not to put great value on material things. This was sentiment, of the highest degree living within me. I treasured my silver bracelet and wore it almost everyday. I lost my silver bracelet. Visiting in Richmond, Virginia has been and always will be a family fun experience. I love and am loved on a daily basis. So, it was devastating to me that in this love fest atmosphere, I lost my silver bracelet. My last post on this blog was called “Mysterious Large Black Handbag” about finding one in the lady’s room in NYC, and how gratifying it was to reunite the owner and the bag……..and now this. Guess one good deed does not always produce another, but kindness must prevail even when not returned. My treasured bracelet just vanished from my wrist. It was so heavy, I would have heard it fall. Where could it be? Who knows except the finder. We were in many parking lots, and just as many shops. Wal-Mart to Sephora, and a few in between. Phantom feelings of my bracelet still on my wrist exist. Tears flow quickly when I think of my birthday with my husband in Paris so many years ago. I can’t even imagine someone else wearing my bracelet. We searched. Oh how we searched. Over and over again in all the same places. Under the bed, in the closet, thinking it was stuck on a piece of clothing I wore, could it have fallen in a drawer, under the bed once again. In every nook and cranny in the car. Places my fingers couldn’t even reach it was so tight, I still tried to reach. I was beginning to become obsessive. At least I knew not to look in the refrigerator. A friend lost her cell phone and there it was, among the cheeses and egg cartons. I called the Henrico County Police Department to make a report. We made signs for the car window, for the little café to put on their door, the calls over and over again to the stores Lost and Found, each time hoping this time, they would say “it is here, your bracelet.” A free ad to run three days in the Richmond Times Dispatch. We did it all, we tried everything. Proving something sad to me. There are some people who wouldn’t think of returning something that didn’t belong to them. Unheard of for me to even think in that way…….and then the others who reached out just to say I understand. My family, my friends. Twitter friends tweeted as far away as Japan, Egypt, Spain, Italy, and many other places. A wonderful community of care. The Lovely Land of Twitter. A woman named Barbara read the ad and felt she had to call. Quickly she said she was sorry she didn’t have the bracelet, but wanted to know if she could help in anyway. She lost a treasured ring when she was a young girl and never forgot, given to her by her now deceased parents. She related. I knew after 5 days, I had to let go. When you lose, the missing is intense. Knowing that replacing is impossible. What was lost was priceless. Loss is a loss forever……..My husband died 9 years ago. Loss, like a diamond in the sand.
“Oh no Paulette. I’m heart broken with you. How sadly ironic that you share this story so shortly after you were able to spare another such hurt. I don’t see your reaction as materialistic. It’s just that it really does hurt when we face loss. I’m glad you had such a great run with your sterling silver bracelet, and I’m holding out hope that somehow it finds its way back to you.”………written by Angie from Arizona. A Twitter friend with kindness and compassion. Thank you lovingly dear Angie.