Special Memory

I had the most wonderful walk down memory lane last evening, a journey I shared with the two Hispanic boys who live next door.  When I came home from walking the dogs, the boys were in the empty lot across the street and appeared to be looking for something.  When I said hello, I also asked them what they were up to--and the older of the two told me that they were looking for rocks.  Seems that they are studying rocks in his elementary school class, and he desperately wanted to find a rock so he, too, could share.  I asked them to wait just a minute and I'd show them something special. They sat down on the yard bench, looking dejected, and I went inside the house.

When I came back out, I had two rocks with me, both of which are special.  One is a perfectly formed heart, and it's even red rock on the top side.  I told the boys the story of finding the rock one day when the children, their father and I were out walking in the desert in Gold Park, up outside of 29 Palms.  My toe kicked into something, and when I looked down, there was the heart rock.  Of course I picked it up, marveled at the perfect heart, and put it into my pocket to bring home.  I told the two boys that my children were, at that time, about the same age as these boys now, so that means I've had the rock for about 40 years.  Of course, 40 years is about a century in a kid's mind, so they were suitably impressed with my story.

I told the boys that the heart is really special to me because it's a memory I share with my children, but I would let him take it to the show-and-tell his class is going to have.  He told me he'd like to take it and would take really good care of my heart-shaped rock.  Their mother called them inside, and I haven't talked to them since that time, so I don't know if he's going to take my heart-shaped rock to show-and-tell or not, but I kind of hope he does so the other children can see a natural heart formed in nature.  Maybe one day one of them will find a special rock and have a story to share with the neighborhood children.