In the summer of 2012, my then fiance brought his lawn care equipment and tool chest to my house to store in my garage. Having received a coveted fellowship at a major university, he closed up the house he’d been renting and moved to the central part of the state to finish writing a book. Our plan was that he would return at the end of the school year, and we would begin planning our life together.
I had a diamond solitaire on my left ring finger.
That plan went south in a big way.
And now, nearly 14 years later, I am dealing with the remnants of a shattered dream: A ring, a strand of Christian Bernard pearls that he placed around my neck when he proposed, and his lawn care equipment.
Yesterday, I pulled the Craftsman mower and power washer out of my garage.
With little emotion at first, I carefully sprayed each item with a mixture of water and white vinegar and got them all shiny. They haven’t been used in years, as my treat to myself is a professional lawn service that handles my yard. The mower clearly needs a new spark plug, and the washer needs a minor repair. My only thought as I cleaned each piece was to list them on Marketplace and hope someone will snap them up. They are Craftsman, so the quality is top notch, and somewhere on each, are his initials he carved into them.
Maybe someone wants these items that once belonged to a NYT best-selling author.
After the cleaning process was over, I stood back and gazed at the mower and washer, recalling the pride my former beau took in the lawns of the homes he once inhabited. It was one of many things I loved about him. He transformed the yard of the Cape Cod home he owned into a beautiful piece of property. He’s always loved plants, and that yard radiated both his love for nature and the fruit of his efforts.
I remembered his somewhat annual pressure washing of my screened porch and deck, part of his Mother’s Day gift to me.
And I thought about the home I had hoped we’d share someday, where we could both enjoy working in a smaller yard and living our lives until death we would part.
We are no longer.
The dream was destroyed.
And now these two items are for sale.
Next up?
A diamond and pearls…
If I gave you diamonds and pearls
Would you be a happy boy or a girl?
If I could, I would give you the world
But all I can do is just offer you my love…
– Prince Nelson Rogers (aka, Prince)
Remnants of a dream…
Now on sale at a home garage in Virginia Beach.
Amy Walton is a single (widowed) woman who is moving forward into the next chapter of her life. She is open to any and all opportunities and eagerly seeking a reason to relocate to a less crowded and less expensive area. Connect with her at amywaltoncoaching@gmail.com.