A few years ago I dropped my grandma’s watch and broke the crystal. I was sad about it then and it still disappoints me when I look at it. But hey! Maybe this can be fixed I thought the other day. I took it to the watch repair shop and the people said it might be possible. I left the shop feeling good about myself. Look at me–taking care of things! I want to take good care of my things. I want them to stay with me forever.
And then right there in the watch repair shop parking lot someone hit my car. There was only one other car in the lot and his car hit my car. Seriously? I was just feeling so good about taking care of my nice things!
There is a sweetness but also a sadness to watching things deteriorate before your very eyes. They’re getting used and loved, but the truth is they won’t last forever. I read a book recently that said: a life well-lived is lived as a series of losses. We are always losing things: sunglasses, car keys, jobs, friends, cities, perfect collarbones. That day in the watch shop parking lot the gods seemed to say to me: Go ahead! Try to make everything perfect! Try to lose nothing! We will make good sport out of watching you.
Anne Foster 