Jake saves the day

The season has started. Set up to do a small Spring show at a beautiful gallery. I had stopped doing the show because, frankly, the sales were so bad it felt like doing penance. But I missed it. My "tribe" is there and I needed them. So, I applied and resigned myself to making just a little bit of money but using the show as a preview of the season, blowing the dust off, deciding where we were going. And that is pretty much how it was. I was set up next to one of my favorite people and there were friends and hugs for days and I traded for an awesome copper and stone bracelet. All in all a pleasant enough weekend. And then we met Jake.

7 years old and full of determination, he strode confidently  to my jeweler neighbor and asked if she had "something with love on it" for his Mother because Mother's day was coming. Aw, man. He insisted he had enough money, although his older sister kept telling him he didn't. He pulled 3 crumpled singles from his pocket and when his sister, patiently, told him he needed 32 dollars, not 3,  for the necklace he had spotted as perfect, he smugly reached deeper into the same pocket (at this point I'm praying that his Dad or someone had slipped him a 20) and pulled out...2 quarters. In his mind, 3 singles and 2 quarters was 32. He was crestfallen when his sister explained the realities to him. And then the magic happened.

My jeweler friend rummaged through her supplies and found a half-finished wrap bracelet, added a charm that said "love" and a pink bead and called the boy over. She said he had enough for this piece of jewelry, was that good for his Mom? and he nodded yes and released the crumpled bills from his curled fingers. I was looking feverishly for something to add to his haul (because by now I was hopelessly in love with this kid) and asked him if his Mom like butterflies as well as dragonflies (the necklace he had wanted to but had a dragonfly on it) He said that she loved both, so I grabbed a box I had made with a little gold butterfly charm on the lid and asked him if he'd like to put his Mom's bracelet in there. Oh, yes, he said, how much did it cost. Nothing, I told him, it is a gift from one Mom to another. It was glorious. He was such a sweetheart and our contributions were more about returning love to a child that exuded it from every pore. We got such a kick out of it. Then the artist set up next to the jeweler on the other side came up to us and asked if we were the ones who gave the gifts to her grandson! We had no idea. She gifted us with a choice from her lovely matted photos. It was one of those "hallmark" moments. Love all around :)

When we talked about it later, we agreed that this was what made the art shows so special. Community, generosity, love, fun and the occasional Jake moment.

So on to the next one in a week. Hopefully it will be better  for us financially. Jake moments feed the soul, but Wegmans feeds the body and I need to go grocery shopping!