Full Circle

I received the letters 'g, u, l, h and a' in a package from my DEAR friend Genny. After fumbling around for a bit - and reviving my flare for scrabble - I discovered that they spelled the word 'laugh'. I loved them! They made me smile every time I glanced at them: a warm reminder of a true friend, and a command that when carried out correctly, truly is the best medicine. The letters took center stage in our house:

Until: on Friday afternoon, I noticed something a bit odd. The letters no longer spelled out 'laugh', but simply 'ha'. No longer an inspirational artistic message - the letter's rearrangement and clear loss left much to be desired. The word 'ha' hardly inspires me at all.

And so, Damon was immediately blamed: 'Very funny hunny.'

But it wasn't him! That left only one culprit. The obvious culprit, but at the same time, one who surely would have informed me if something had been broken? The maid. A very sweet lady named Pi-guy who doesn't speak a word of English, let alone read it - and I of course STILL don't speak enough Thai to allow open lines of communication between us.

But wouldn't she have told me if something had been broken during the course of her labours? Even if she couldn't read it, and had no idea what it was, she wouldn't throw a broken piece of my belongings away, would she?

She would. The funny (sorry for the pun) thing about the incident is that she put the two unbroken letters back on the shelf spelling the very sound one makes when laughing. And so, it was not a total loss.

The following Monday, Pi-Guy came bearing gifts.

Yes, those are mountain goats made out of wicker. A very sweet thought. A sweet thought. And since that is what counts, I guess I can live with a heard of wicker mountain goats on my shelf.

Now, the remarkable part of this story lies in this: Every time I pass by the mountain goats, I laugh. And was that not the point in the first place?