Looking for Treasure
In the most unlikely places
“Mom, look what I found.”
His bright blue eyes are wide with excitement.
A smudge of dirt kisses his cheek.
His new coat and pants have a grayish white film on them because he has been scooting his little 3.5 year old body along the floor of the grocery for the last 15 minutes as I’ve filled our cart with food.
My son is treasure hunting.
He reminds me of a scuba diver as he methodically strokes his arms along the floor and underneath the shelves, propelling himself along as he searches.
People in the store either look at me with semi-disgusted disapproval or a charmed, reverent smile. I feel like I’m walking around with Pig Pen from Charlie Brown.
Everett holds out a dusty old ring that’s likely been hanging out underneath the shelves for a couple of years. Twehjjahhh! he proclaims, with a gap-toothed smile.
By the time we leave the store, his pockets are full of booty— a forgotten hair clip, coins, an earring, unidentifiable plastic parts, and a couple of screws.
When we go home, he’ll place them among his treasure jars. I’ve taken to washing and saving all of our pickle, salsa, and jelly jars because the treasures became so plentiful I didn’t know what to do with them all. Clear jars seemed like an appropriate way to honor Everett’s expeditions and keep a semblance of adult elegance in the home, right?
Here’s a shot of him at TJ Maxx— I guess I still need to capture his grocery store prowling on camera.
He likes to empty the jars every time we come back from a new “adventure” so he can see his bounty all at once. Then, if I’m lucky, he carefully combines his new treasure with the old and puts everything back on display.
This infatuation with treasure hunting is totally dirty. It makes me a little squeamish. And yet… it’s the epitome of life and love.
Everett feels life force energy when he goes in search of these long lost objects.
He is both buzzing with excitement and at total peace, immersed in a fantasy world while also being completely rooted in the present moment.
What he feels and what he finds in someone’s lost rhinestone is the purest & fullest sensation… one that many of us find ourselves looking for in all the wrong places (social media, buying a new shirt, indulging in another cup of coffee or glass of wine) and never really actualizing.
These treasure hunts are little scraps of magic.
Finding joy and excitement in the least expected places.
Attaching powerful meaning to a paperclip.
What was the person who owned this like? What were they shopping for the day they dropped this? Have they been looking for it? What can I do with it?
His mind is rich with possibility and enchantment.
So, I let him go for it.
I encourage him.
I feign disbelief when he proudly waves a bobby pin in my face.
How observant you are! What magnificent eyes you have. You find beauty in everything, Everett.
Perhaps I’m not faking anything after all… perhaps these really are treasures.
I know at the very least, my little boy is a treasure.
Magic is in the eye of the beholder.
