The Ladybug and the Frog (actually there is no frog I just thought it was catchy)

I got out my magnifying glass to read the small print of the rules that I had drawn up for myself prior to starting my blogging adventure and, by golly, it was there - - the rule I was looking for. Rule No. 7 states: if you feel absolutely certain that, upon reading the door’s designated task, there is no way possible to complete the task in the amount of time necessary to write a timely blog, you may move on to the next door. I am not going to tell you what was behind door number 2, but I will tell you that I looked over my calendar and my list of regular chores for the week and came to the conclusion that I would indeed lose the blogging game (by the standards that I mentioned in my last blog) if I attempted to accomplish that task. So…on to door number 3.

Two autumns ago, while driving the streets of Kansas City, I spotted a sign for an estate sale. I have looked high and low for a bumper sticker that reads “Caution: I not only brake, but I come to a screeching halt for estate sales”; I have yet to find one. So, cautiously, I slowed down to catch the address, proceeded to the sale, and then spent a lovely morning amongst someone else’s discards. This particular sale was a rare find. It was not a “real” estate sale where someone had died and a company came to sell everything for the family. It was more like a garage sale; only it was throughout the house, the owners of the “stuff” were there, and they weren’t ancient. I think it was the circumstance of two individuals joining together in a new home and only half of each person’s “stuff” made the cut to make the move. Hence, we are talking quality - - at least as far as “stuff” goes that is. Unfortunately, most of the prices were above the limits of what I would spend on this type of venture, plus these places don’t take plastic which is all I usually have on me. However, I did find a few things that I had enough cash for. I can remember two. One, a crazy, but good pair of linen pants with hydrangeas on them, that yes I do wear (and have received compliments on), and a water color of a ladybug. Total cost: under 20 bucks. A steal considering the pants had never been worn and the painting is numbered. So why were these two items not selected to get packed up and moved on? Well, I think, as far as the pants go, it would take a special person to not look at the pants and say “what was I thinking,” especially at the price they probably had paid for them. The picture’s frame had seen better days. The frame, which had a black, almost moldy looking substance on it, actually had me even deliberating for a long time as to how wise this purchase would be, but I just couldn’t put it down. The picture spoke to me. “Jane, Jane, you love me, you want me, I belong in your life.”

And it did, because ladybugs have crept into many parts of my life. As a mother of two daughters, I happily fulfilled my duty of passing on to my darlings the myth of the ladybug that my mother taught me: “If a ladybug lands on you, they magically bring you luck.” Ladybugs live in our lovely garden and many a summer day they touch us with their luck. In “Under the Tuscan Sun,” embarrassingly one of my favorite movies, Katherine, a very eccentric woman, tells the main girl, Diane Lane’s character, about the magic of ladybugs. And then later, Lane (after having had an incredible weekend with a guy she meets in an enchanting Tuscany town), glowingly and simply replies to Katherine’s inquiry of her weekend , “ladybugs, lots and lots of ladybugs.” I loved that line, I get it. And then, as most of you know, I am a coach for a program for little girls that promotes healthy, both physically and mentally, living habits called Girls on the Run. During the lessons, we give what we call energy awards to encourage positive behavior. The girl’s very favorite (and mine too), the “ladybug”. To perform this cheer, the coach or whoever’s giving it must get down on the ground, lie on their back, and flail their arms and legs. During and after, laughter abounds. So, yes, ladybugs and I, we connect. As I mentioned before, I purchased the picture.

So, oh yes, the task, you ask? The paper behind door number three instructed me to take the picture to be reframed. That doesn’t sound too hard. I loaded it in my car and off we went to the mega chain craft store Hobby Lobby . On the way there I remembered that frequently they have weekly offers of discounted custom framing. I forgot to check on that before I left. But thanks to my handy, dandy navigation system (of course when I am safely at a red light), I found the number and called. “Ladybug” luck wasn’t with me. No discounts this week. Immediately after hanging up, my delightful neighbor (you know my tea partner) calls me and I tell her my predicament. “Do I pay full price and get the task done? Or do I save money and put it off in hopes that next week they have the discount”? “Wait” she advises. So then, yesterday, I am driving down our main drag and I spot a small custom frame shop. I hear my sister Susan’s voice. “Go to the little guy. Support the mom and pop.” So, I whipped into the parking lot and proceeded into the shop (I still had the picture in car from the other day). Again “ladybug” luck, nowhere to be seen. The Mom and Pop were brothers except they were both gone for a long weekend (probably off fishing or something) and they asked Pop to come in from the fields and fill in. And guess what? He didn’t know much about framing. He was just there to tell customers the boys would be back on Monday. He did know about his sons’ clientele. I saw dollar signs for my little project. The man rambled on for about 40 minutes about various incredibly difficult projects his sons had done. I think he was lonely. Kelley said, after telling him of my venture, that just the right person walked in the door for him. Do you think he was indicating that I tend to ramble too? Why would he think that? Anyway, an hour later, I walked out the door with my picture left behind for one of his boys to look at and get back with me. We would go from there on Monday. I think I will check the ads for Hobby Lobby Monday morning just in case. So, task completed? Not sure, you can be the judge.