In times of strife or frustration, and sometimes just on a regular, boring day of Arizona same-ness, my son asks “what’s the point?”
Maybe all kids are saying that today … I bought him “The Goldfinch,” because it’s an ongoing theme, as it is in “Infinite Jest” (or so I’m told … It’s 1000 pages + end notes).
But, at some stage, there’s an a-ha moment in those books, and in life, when your heart/soul finds peace and resolution.
(Or so I’m told …)
I can’t tell Tom what “the point” is. I can’t tell him — because I don’t know. But as I ponder this, I am struck by a random act of inspiration and human connection that happened yesterday without me putting enough value in it:
An older Asian lady heard me ask a clerk at Trader Joe’s if they had Hoisin sauce. They don’t. But sweet#MrsKim asked me to follow her to her cart. She had just been to an Asian market in town, she says as she pulls out a bottle from a plastic bag–and hands it to me. I tried to pay, but all she wanted was a kiss on her crepe-y cheek — and to know my name.
I’d forgotten the moment as soon as I returned to sullen Tom waiting in the car. Forgot all day, until this morning, when my purse felt heavier than usual …
Now, I’m not a great cook (hunting for Hoisin is not a regular activity), and I’m definitely failing as a role model and inspiration for my kid … But thanks to #MrsKim, I experienced a moment that should not be forgotten among all my moments. Maybe sharing kindness is HER point. Maybe that instance was to help remind me that we’re not all alone on this marble.
Thank you, #MrsKim. Thanks for being alive — and for positively impacting my life this weekend. I’m pretty sure, in the final analysis, that should always be “the point.”
——
Also, I’ll be making tons of Chinese dishes over the next few weeks … And then, I might just frame this magical bottle.
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