Do I Need This?

If you live in Small Town, you know what this weekend is. This is the weekend of erratic drivers who suddenly turn left when you were sure they were going straight, lines of cars parked under the No Parking signs on narrow streets, and hopeful-looking children trying to sell you warm cans of pop while their parents are trying to sell you, well, everything else.

It's Garage Sale Weekend in Small Town.

This is not an official designation, because there has been no need for proclamations. No, this is an organic outpouring of stuff onto lawns, the old-clothes-and-electronics equivalent of a Mento being dropped into a Diet Coke. There are garage sales on every street, every block, every place the thousands of tourists in town for the annual bluegrass festival might amble past.

Years ago this weekend would have been circled on my calendar. I would have made the rounds looking for bargains in old electronics, popcorn poppers, pressure cookers, air purifiers. Also handprint stepping stone craft kits, cutting boards, and electric rollers.

Today, because I have now been de-stuffifying for several years, I knew that I needed NOTHING. Zero, zip, nada, NOT A THING.

So I just stepped out of the car (which I parked under the No Parking sign) to take a couple of pictures of how good I was at resisting garage sales, especially since we had donated a full pick-up load of our own cast-off goods to the community garage sale just a few weeks ago.

And that was when I saw this:

Oh, gosh.

I love this bowl. So pretty, so amber (which matches my Thanksgiving dishes), so priced at $1 which is less than a Sonic slush costs and I wouldn't hesitate to buy a Sonic slush if I NEEDED....

And that's when I was glad I had left my wallet in the car. I do not need another specialized serving dish, especially at this point in my life when Thanksgiving dinner is less and less about the dishes and more and more about the people at the table.

You have to promise me at Thanksgiving, though, that when I'm holding a pot of mashed potatoes and wishing I had one more serving bowl, that you'll come around and give me a hug. Because I may not have needed it, but I really wanted that bowl.