why my life is like a bowl full of cherries

I went to Cherry Street Antiques today. I've passed it several times but had never gone in. I wasn't even sure if it was in business. It's an old house converted into a store, so it looked worth a stop... finally. There was an old lady behind a counter and on the phone when I entered. I didn't see her, but I heard her ask if I needed anything. I felt like Bastian walking in the book shop in Neverending Story. Not a soul was in there but the old lady and me, and the rooms were filled top to bottom with all sorts of stuff. "Just browsing," I said. I gathered the bottom of my long maxi dress in my one hand and pulled my purse close with the other to avoid knocking anything over. I made my way around the rooms and considered a few things... an old hanging bird cage, a hummingbird wind chime, an old leather purse... but I justified only one purchase - a children's book called "We Were Tired of Living in a House" by Liesel Moak Skorpen. I couldn't resist. Just look at the illustration...

And the text... Oh, the text.

"We were tired of living in a house
So we packed a bag with
sweaters and socks and scarves
and mittens and woolen caps.
And we moved to a tree.
We liked our tree.
There was always a breeze in the afternoon
that rippled through our roof.
Above in a branch lived a speckled bird
who sang all day for the sake of a song,
and our roof in the autumn turned scarlet and gold.
We liked our tree..."

Bah! So good.

When I was little and would play house, I would claim to live on Cherry Tree Lane. I loved the word "Cherry," the look of the deep red, shiny fruit, the association with summertime... There's a movie I love called "The War" where a teacher asks the students to write an essay on "Why my life is like a bowl full of cherries." Well today my life is like a bowl full of cherries because I found a sweet little book that I can't wait to devour with Max.