garage sales

It wasn't all that long ago... was it 20 years? 25 years? okay... so, I take it back. It just seems like yesterday.

I just remember when I went to my first garage sale. My mother-in-law got me hooked. She was such a great garage saler back-in-the-day. We would scope out the newspaper and mark the best ones, map it all out, and then head out early in hopes that they will open the doors just a teensy tinsy minute or two or five early so we can have a first look. We would always scorn on the ones who were rigid and stuck to the "NO early sales" rule. We were so funny.

One of us would drive, and one would navigate.... and we would hit them all. every. single. one.

Every spring, about this time, I begin to feel "it". If you are a garage saler you know what "it" is. I don't have to explain. But, I'll tell you - for those of you who don't know.

"It" is a rush you begin to feel in anticipation of getting the best sale, the best deal. "It" is that tinge of excitement when you see those words: SALE TODAY. "It" is that panic you feel when you think you might have missed out on a purchase, as you see someone walk away from a sale carrying something you KNOW you would have paid double for. "It" is the indwelling emotion of thrill, excitement, enthusiasm, satisfaction, and pride all at one time.

I can mildly compare "It" to a few things.... a child in her bed on Christmas Eve, a hunter the morning of the big hunt, a fisherman at 5am when he knows the fish are biting, a gardener in the spring.... if you know those emotions, then you know "It".

This is the week. This is the week "it" starts. Now THIS is the first sign of spring.