It Was Such a Small Thing, Really ...

After blowing off some steam over the ongoing squabbling in The Family, I’ve been able to calm down some. Get into a better frame of mind. Many things have helped me accomplish that, but one choice I made boosted my spirits enormously—and the funny thing is, I didn’t expect my trivial action to have any consequence to my perspective.

A nearby town has a farmer’s market a couple of days each week. It’s small, but decent enough. I can always find good produce there that we didn’t choose to grow, and I like supporting the local people. Having decided on veggie lasagna for tonight’s dinner a few days ago, I persuaded MAL to accompany me to the farmer’s market, even though it was cool and rainy. We each opted to take our own umbrellas so that we’d have more flexibility.

Several vendors, huddled under their tents or an umbrella, brightened visibly when they saw us coming; a few spoke (some very enthusiastically and at length) to me, even though it was probably clear I wasn’t a prospective customer, because I continued to walk past their tables. It is true that customers were few that dreary morning, but there were other customers around. What made the difference?

My umbrella. It’s not your ordinary black umbrella ... nor some other unicolor one, or common pattern.

My umbrella is a fairly realistic sunflower design, complete with a ruffled, petal-like edge. It’s fairly big, and it’s warm with golds and bronzes and browns.

One never can tell what one little thing can to do bring cheer into someone’s life.