Write It Out: Instruction Video
“Job lifted a mayonnaise jar of brightly coloured buttons from the shelf. “My mother kept a jar of buttons in the kitchen,” he said. “She did her sewing on the kitchen table.” He put the jar back on the shelf as Liv handed him his tea.
“I just like the look of them,” she said. She unwound a fresh wad of toilet paper from the roll on the table and wiped her nose with it. “They make me happy.”
Job remembered a jar of buttons from his childhood, in his grade one class. One button covered in rhinestone, shining within a jar of others made from horn, bone, jet and coloured plastic. He dumped the buttons on the floor to get at it, then played with it in the sunlight that came in from the window, sending shards of light across the ceiling, distracting the class. He wouldn’t stop or hand over the button when the teacher told him to, and pulled his hand into a fist to protect it. As punishment, he stood outside in the sun, on the steps of the school, sending slivers of light over the wall. He had known what he wanted then, and had dumped the jar of buttons to get it. Made a fist to keep it. “There’s something about a jar of buttons,” he said, as he sat at the table with Liv.
“It’s the abundance,” said Liv. “The choice.””
***
“Skip” makes me think (today) of taking a pass on something. Then, the words “abundance” and “choice” remain with me from the reading. Sometimes, “abundance” and “choice” seem so far away that I’ve not even realized I’ve skipped over an opportunity (or over an abundance of opportunities), and yet at other times, the three work together and help me realize how fortunate I am. Fortunate for both the abundance I have to select from, to skip over some and choose one, and for having the privilege to make my own choice. There’s my writing clarity, today. How about you? Which words spoke to you today? Share your thoughts below!
