On Time

It has absolutely been my experience in life that the energy I'm seeking is seeking me as well.  I've got numerous magical stories that I could share of how things that were initially just a thought in my mind manifested physically right before my very eyes.  Whether present in my thoughts regularly or fleetingly, things, people, scenarios have come to me in just the way I had envisioned--I'm speaking of the positive here.  This is not to be boastful, as I am in a constant state of wonderment about it all is though I were hearing someone else recount her/his own mystical stories of manifestation. It is a humbling experience.  

Regarding things, they have been big and small.

One thing that has been a challenge to keep up with in our home is dry erase markers.  The girls have a dry erase board in the form of an easel on which they do lots of writing, drawing, and brainstorming.  Despite the importance of suitable markers for the board, keeping the writing instruments functional and in an accessible place really just seems to be beyond us.  As such, we were in a store recently--a local Japanese dollar store to be exact--with the goal of getting new markers.  Now, the type of store that it was that we visited is relevant, because in reading this you should know that the Japanese dollar store has e.ver.y.thing.  I come from a place where Dollar Tree is THE dollar store that has everything, but trust me when I say it has nothing on Daiso, this Japanese store.

One of the fun things about the store is that there are all sorts of things that are so mystical to me.  A lot of the packages have writing only in Japanese; others have mostly Japanese with some English, cluing the non-Japanese speaker in on just what's in the wrapper being analyzed.  It's a fun experience for me and the girls each time we go, despite the fact that I'm a minimalist who is usually going there for the one or two things I'm searching for, and that's IT--not to mention that I'm trying to be in and out given all that's going on these days. 

In Daiso in early 2019, when baby was still in my belly, and face coverings were not required.  Notice that everything is not a dollar, or even a dollar fifty for that matter. Ha!

A month or so ago I got the idea that I wanted one of those hour glass sand timers just to let the girls have that experience.  I've always found them to be pretty neat, and while we use electronic devices as a means of setting timers for us on a regular basis, a sand timer, I knew, would be a fun experience for them.  It crossed my mind, but it wasn't such a pressing desire that caused me to look into where I could get one.  I wondered about it and thought about it maybe one or two more times before forgetting about it altogether.  The busy nature of life sometimes, you know.  

So, we were in the Japanese dollar store getting markers. me and my three girls.  Naturally, they're wide- eyed, looking at all the things available to shoppers but knowing Mama was really clear on what she was there for and that was IT.  There we were, standing in front of three or four different types of dry erase markers, determining which ones we should get this go round.  Which could we get the most use out of before they, too, become useless and dried out under the couch somewhere?  Of course, we try to do better each time.  

"What's this?"  my three-year-old-reached down and picked something up, showing me with a look of curiosity on her face.  It was an hour glass sand timer, misplaced by someone, right on the shelf below the dry erase markers.  It had never crossed my mind to look for one in that store (in fact, I'm certain that it was a new item), yet there it was being shown to me, resting out of place near the one thing I went in to get that day.   This seemed so random, yet, in my experience, I've learned that these things are not random at all.  They're the direct,  intentional response by a force seeking to connect me with those things that have taken shape in my mind.  My desires.  

It was in a state of amazement that I walked with my girls to the checkout counter, holding the sand timer in my hand.  It wasn't clear to me where the others were located  in the store, but I held firmly the one that had been misplaced just for us.  They're already getting a kick out of it!