My Heart-Shaped Rock

It's probably a little late for me to be writing about this, but I just felt like it right now. It's a fun story from when my family and I were coming back from our Boston road trip a couple weeks ago.

Well, it was Sept. 2nd, (we'd set off really early in the morning) and by late afternoon we'd driven through a bunch of states already. Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, and Delaware. My dad drove the first half and my mom drove the second. Now we were in Maryland and on our way to my dad's old friend, Efi's house. We'd gone to Efi's house and had so much fun the year before, so I was really looking forward to getting there.

We got to his neighborhood and saw his house, but we decided it would be fun to relax a little first and stretch our legs a little before we met up with our host. We were early, anyway. So we stopped in this quaint little park a little way off. I thought it was beautiful, with lots of grass and open spaces. We had a little picnic there. I remember it was quite peaceful and relaxing there. I wished I could live there. The colonial houses were so big and cool, and each one was different. I live in suburbia, so I love the look of large, fancy houses.

Anyway, those small details aren't part of my story. When we were done with the picnic, me and my sibs ran off to play some Friz-Bee and just run around. Near this small, kiddy playground, we noticed a cute little rushing stream that had cool rocks and was just plain beautiful. I absolutely loved being so close to nature. The quiet sound of water and birds... I saw a couple dragonflies as blue and sparkly as fairies, and even caught a quick glimpse of a hummingbird! I was just filled with childlike wonder in that place, and wished I never had to leave it.

I had to take a souvenir of the place, to remind me of this beautiful memory. So I started hunting among the smooth, shiny rocks below the shallow water for my perfect stone. It took a while to find the right one, but then... I saw it.

(This picture isn't of my rock, btw. Neither is the one on top. I just found these two on Google Images. Seems that heart-shaped rocks aren't all that special and unique. But then again, they are, aren't they?)

My rock looks precisely like a heart. No mistaking it. It's kind of smooth, because it came from the stream, but it has little bumps and grooves in it. It's grayish-brown, and fits perfectly in my hand. I'm serious, it's just the right size to sit in my palm and have my fingers close over it and squeeze it...

My heart rock has almost never left my side since I found it. I'm not kidding. That night at Efi's I slept with it clutched in my hand. Okay, maybe that was a little dumb and I don't do that now, but I've rarely ever lost track of it for more than a few minutes. It's on my bedside table when I sleep, in the pocket of my jeans when I'm going somewhere (every once in a while I like to check it's still there and I grin at it's familiar weight). Writing this post, my rock is sitting right next to the computer at this minute! I just love it. Having it by me makes me feel good and happy.

Here's another story about my rock. About a week ago, I'm not really sure now, I was tossing the rock back and forth, from one hand to the next, like you might with a ball. I guess I was careless for a split-second and it slipped, fell onto the tile floor and broke in two. Not in neat halves, but in two pieces, plus some tiny fragments. I was shocked at my carelessness, and sad at my broken heart. I wasn't as upset as I though I would be, because it's just a thing after all. It's not really anything of huge importance, except for any emotion I attach to it, but it was still a sad thing.

(Not my rock either!)

I collected the two large rock pieces, saved them and tried not to think about it for a couple days (I didn't think the fragments were that important). I did not through the rock out. I loved it too much. Finally I began to really miss it, so I used some super-glue called that is actually named "Goop" and stuck the pieces back together again. They fit satisfyingly, like puzzle pieces. ^,^ I let the glue dry overnight, and by morning it was just like new! It smelled a tiny bit like glue, but I knew that would go away, and it was like new! I was so happy, just like when I first found it.

I'm not sure why I've told you these rock stories. There's not really supposed to be any morals attached to them... But maybe there's a hidden moral somewhere anyway. Like, "Love is neither practical nor logical." Or maybe it's supposed to be happiness. Perhaps it's one you've most likely heard before, "Time heals all wounds." I don't know. But it felt good talking about my rock. Who knows? Maybe my stories have inspired you to go out looking for your own heart-shaped stone. (It's also just plain fun to look through Google Images at heart rocks! ^_^)