Another brilliant piece from a GUNNAS WRITING MASTERCLASS writer
Once upon a time, awoken early by an enthusiastic dog, I pulled on my big red rubber boots and decided, unusually, to go for a morning walk. The sun was shining. The day beckoned. There’s a hopefulness in an early start on a sunny morning that even the most miserable circumstances can’t shift.
There was an older couple on the opposite side of the road as I emerged from my front gate. We smiled at each other in a slightly self righteous and conspirational we’re-up-early-on-this-hopefully-glorious-day kind of way. I decided to not follow my regular dog walking route and chose a different direction.
It was at the first corner that I noticed it; an everyday artefact. There were two deflating balloons, flapping above a raggedy home-made sign, Garage Sale – odds and sods, trash and treasure. It was dated yesterday.
I had a happy greedy thought, ever the bower bird, and was instantly motivated by the prospect of discovering a treasure. That warm glow of recognition and excitement thrilling through you. Something deeply valued by me, that by some miracle of connection, the hapless garage seller was clearing out.
But having spent too long decluttering over the last summer holidays, I resisted. Because of that I didn’t note the address.
However, round the corner I saw that I was about to walk past it. My heart gladdened a little at the excuse to rummage without altering course; actually I had to cross the road, but I didn’t include that in my mental gymnastics to assuage my clutter guilt and because of that I happily embraced the first box of junk.
Some 70’s brightly patterned glasses – too small to slake a serious thirst – caught my eye. Then the inevitable box of books.
I saw a small World of Warcraft book and my thoughts turned to my youngest. How to parent? A regular quandary for me. Buy it for him as a random, thought you might like this, kind of gift. A book of a computer game he plays – always searching for the excuse to join reading into his repertoire of things with which he occupies his time. Leverage up the game into a more acceptable literacy space; clever marketing by the games companies no doubt targeting the low hanging fruit of guilty parents.
Or is it crap? Probably badly written. Encourages the stupid (in my view) game.
My thoughts went to and fro with my convoluted decision making until finally I thought it was worth the 50 cent investment. (Or was that divestment? My mind constantly preoccupied with these stupid questions. Fuck parenting; it’s exhausting and consumes your thoughts and time and you’re not likely to get it right anyway.)
But I headed home with a happy and not too cluttered heart. Prudent clutter. It must have been the red boots.