Thank Your Lucky Stars

We all find that from time to time, those cliché sayings come spilling out of our mouths. “Absence makes the heart grow fonder,“ Sharp as a tack,” or “Back off, get your own sandwich!” Most of the time we don’t even notice when we use these sayings, since the commonality of them seems daily. Other times, you might catch the roll of someone’s eyes, or a polite chuckle from your ‘witty’ remark.

But did you ever stop to actually think about these quotes? So simple, yet so true. In fact, these old adages have the ability to completely encompass an entire situation, feeling, or intention in one short phrase.  They are overused for a reason – sometimes it’s the simplest way to get your message across.

Before I slip back into my old Bachelor of Arts essay-writing groove, I’ll get to the point. Steve and I have just recently experienced a cliché that we couldn’t be more stoked about.

Good things come to those who wait.

No, I’m not talking about the 6 years it took us to get engaged! This past weekend, the phrase took on a whole new meaning. Let’s back up.

Our micro-apartment does not have a kitchen table. “Big whoop,” you say, “you live in Australia, suck it up.” But honestly, I dare you – try living without one. Even Honey-Boo-Boo’s family has a kitchen table. Steve and I have resorted to eating our meals with our butts parked on the couch and our plates on the coffee table. Shoulders hunched, leaning over our meals, our spines started to curve permanently into the shape of elbow macaroni. I started to be self conscious in public that I was slouching like Quasimodo. We had agreed that once we were working enough, that we would buy a table to eat at, but it had now been 3 months of TV dinners. Enough was enough. We were going to find a table.

 On Sunday we went to the Camberwell Market on our quest against kyphosis. The market was really interesting – a mix of vintage meets garage sale meets crafts meets antiques. We’ll definitely be going back to score some treasures, but we didn’t find an affordable kitchen table. Strike One.

From there, we rejuvenated ourselves (me with a flat white, Steve with a hot dog), and missioned across town to the People’s Market in Collingwood. After being slightly lost for quite a while, we finally stumbled in through the arty gates and discovered a really cool atmosphere smothered in hipsters – but aside from the Ninja-Lime-Mayo on our shoestring fries, there wasn’t much product to peruse. Strike Two. Defeated, we schlepped home to hover over dinner.

That’s when I had a light bulb moment. Walking to work on Saturday, I had seen a small table amongst ripped out carpets and other odd-angled debris. I insisted that we go and check it out – but Steve was feeling the effects of the long day on public transit and opted to stay home. Ye have little faith! (Another one of those pesky clichés!) Stubborn as I am, I set out to see if that little table would do. Some may call it desperate.

Of course, the table was gone. But along the way, I had spotted many piles of trash that resembled furniture. In the back of my mind, I remembered that Melbourne has “Hard Rubbish Day” on the last Sunday of every month. A chance for everyone to throw out their old toasters, infested couches, and perfectly good kitchen tables.

Yep, that’s right. I went routing around the neighbourhood right alongside a white-haired matron with a shopping trolley, knocking elbows with her for the good trash. When I was just about to give up, I spotted it - I couldn’t believe my eyes. A table! A table of sturdy nature, clean, and matching our décor to boot! I couldn’t believe our good fortune, and swooped in. Immediately, I frowned at the weight of it. There was no way I could get this table home by myself. To make thing worse, I had left my cell phone at home.

Should I hide it and come back with Steve? Too risky.

Should I knock on the door and ask to borrow the phone? Too pathetic.

As a slow panic set in over the possible loss of my new treasure, I spotted a shopping cart alongside the road. It was going to be embarrassing, but it needed to be done.  I hoisted the table on top of the cart and started to wheel it home. Not an easy feat. Of course, the cart had wonky wheels, so that it kept pulling to the right. I had to cross the street at traffic lights, and roll over uneven pathways and cobblestone. As ashamed as I was, I resolved not to look anywhere but straight ahead. If I caught anyone’s shocked or disapproving eye, I might shrivel up and abandoned the mission. Stupidly determined, I pushed on.

We made it home, the table and I. Triumph! I was grinning from ear to ear as I showed Steve our free table (well, it only cost the small price of my dignity). We shined it up and rearranged the apartment to encompass the new addition. Now if we only had chairs…

Without drawing this saga out into Lord of the Rings proportions, we found an ad for 4 black Ikea chairs on the internet; when we contacted the lady about their condition she replied “If you want to come pick them up, you can have them for free.” The stars had aligned!!

It was another mini-mission, taking the chairs on the bus – but as we were walking down the street towards home with our prize, that saying popped into my head: Good things come to those who wait. And it really did!  Sometimes I could not be more surprised by the simple generosity of ordinary people or the uncanny twist of fate that the universe throws at us. Maybe we all have to struggle a little in order to really appreciate when good things happen to us.

We could not be more pleased with our new setup – bon appetite!