Sitting on the grass of the front lawn was a green, fiberglass canoe. My mom asked the guy how much he wanted for it.
"100 bucks," he said.
"Really? Wow," she said. I couldn't actually tell by her reaction if my mom thought this was a bargain or incredibly over priced. I went in for a closer look.
"I've been wanting a canoe for a long time," I said to her.
"I know, and it's such a good price," she said.
I thought this over for a bit. Since graduating from school I've had a simple set of goals for myself: Job-->Truck-->Man-->Canoe. I am normally very adamant about not letting being single get in the road of living my life, but honestly, a canoe is a heavy and awkward thing to carry and load by myself. It's really better with two people. And, canoeing is something special to me that I'd really like to share with someone special. Still, a nice, fibreglass canoe, in the good condition it was in, for only $100? How could I pass that up?
Between the two of us, Mom and I had $50. We gave that to the guy as a deposit and told him we'd be back later with the rest and to pick up the mighty green vessel. Then we headed on to Amara's.
I chatted with Amara a bit in the driveway. Christian, Amara's husband, was carrying the baby.
"Here Jill, you take this," Christian said as he handed off his sweet little baby boy so he could attend to something.
I suddenly had a small, make that very small, child in my arms. I don't even remember the last time I held a baby. I had no idea if I was doing it right. I can't imagine it looked very natural. But the baby kept on smiling anyway so I must've been doing something right. My mom certainly enjoyed the moment. I only just realized now that I was holding for the first time my very special miracle, the one that got me my new job and my window seat cubicle. He is my special reminder of how the seemingly impossible can come together for me if I can just hold on for things to fall into place. He's also incredibly cute and surprisingly light.
About an hour later we were back at the sale where my canoe was on layaway. I had visited the bank and had the rest of my payment ready to fork over. I looked at my new purchase with delight. All I could think of was how buff and tanned my arms were going to get this summer from paddling. Oh how wonderful, how perfect that Fate had presented me with this bargain.
The reality check quickly followed. The canoe is awkward to fit in my truck. It is too heavy for me to manage by myself. I don't have a place to store it at my house. I could have spent the $100 on new clothes that actually fit the new, smaller me, and that might even have a role in attracting the attention of Mr. Prince Charming.
With the help of my mom, we got the canoe back to my parents' place and unloaded it onto their front lawn. I decided to try picking it up by the thwarts. I managed to lift it to my thighs and hold it there for about five seconds. Oh yeah, I am going to get buff arms this summer alright, but at this rate, the canoe will never actually see water.
In the end, I found a place I can store the canoe and my dad is working on a rack I can use in Truck to transport it. He's also got someone thinking up some kind of collapsible dolly rig so I can wheel the canoe to the river or lake on my own.
That all aside, I still consider it an investment piece, like buying a pair of shoes before the outfit. As for you, Mr. Prince Charming Dude, I figure you're out there slaying your dragons or trying to climb Rapunzel's ridiculous hair extensions. So while you're off doing that, I'll be here, doing my thing, singing my songs, eating my ice cream. I know one day we will finally meet and then we can have a good laugh about this day when I changed my life plan because I just couldn't wait around for you any more. You know you find my impatience and hopeless romantic ideals endearing.
2 comments:
Think of it this way, when you find a boy you want to go on a date with you can ask him to go canoeing!
Alex and I have a canoe and although we don't use it as often as we should, there's nothing better than spending a few hours out on the water, as long as there aren't too many bigger boats around to swamp you!
If you are looking for a friend to go canoeing with in the meantime give me a ring sometime. I miss my pond paddling days.
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