Cute Stuff

I followed a sign advertising a garage sale this morning--unusual for a Friday.  It said, "Cute stuff!"--and of course, I had to check it out.

Three young women--forty-something--were selling all kinds of things that Elena and I would love, so I bought her a mermaid costume and a big stack of books, and bought a bag of quilting fabric for Day.

"I love your polka dot sunglasses!" one of them said.

"My boyfriend bought them for me," I replied.  (I never know quite what to call Mike--Manfriend? Husband-equivalent?  Boyfriend? Traveling companion?)

Well, they thought that was funny--a woman my age having a "boyfriend" who buys her polka dot glasses.

"You are so cute!" one said--which raised my spirits quite radically.

We talked on about other things--that I lead writing groups, etc.  "I want to join your group and be  your best friend," one of them said.  "You are so cool and hip!"

Let me tell you--cool and hip are exactly the opposite of how I've been feeling lately--so I decided to try to live up to the compliment and be cooler and hipper!

We traded phone numbers and I lugged my two bags of costumery and reading material to the car.  They were heavy, but I wanted to be sure to carry them jauntily so as not to mar my reputation as hip.

When you're young, you're really cute.  Everybody is.  It's in their nature--but they don't know it.

Then, you pass through a couple of decades of being invisible--especially to younger people who are still actually cute.

Then, when you get pretty old, you get to be cute again--just because you've reached a certain age and still do fun things, like going to garage sales and buying mermaid costumes and other cute stuff.

Today was a great day--starting with the garage sale, then going to Camera Exchange to sign up for a photography class tomorrow, then wandering around La Cantera (to take back a thing or two) and going to Happy Hour at Perry's and listening to a singer/pianist and saxophonist play oldies.  I liked it so much I bought the CD for Mike, my boyfriend who buys me polka dot glasses!