Things I Carry
I carry so many things, so many insignificant things, things that you would never think could hold so much meaning.
Chapstick.
No, I do not carry it for fear of coming across Prince Charming and diving into his arms for the fairy-tale kiss. But I do fear chapped lips; it is more of a phobia (chapped-obia?). I was eight years old in the Alps of France over winter break when no one informed me that chapstick would be a good little soldier in my pocket to defend my lips from the enemy: the cold (and cue the evil soundtrack). Cracked, dried, irritated lips soon came my way, and Superhero Chapstick came to save the day.
I prefer Burt’s Bees Pomegranate Replenishing Lip Balm with Pomegranate Oil (ingredients: sunflower seed oil, beeswax, coconut oil, castor oil, lanolin, comfrey root, pomegranate oil, sweet almond oil, anise oil, cassia, cinnamon leaf oil, clary sage oil, mandarin oil, tocopheryl oil & tocopherol, rosemary leaf extract, carmine, fragrance). The ingredients (not that I actually know what they all mean) are the perfect army of soldiers against the weather. One day, as I was roaming through the aisles of Walgreens, I stumbled upon this new magical creation. I read the ingredients (finally, a chapstick without the fraud Petroleum Jelly) and knew at once that it was the equivalence of nectar from the Greek Gods.
And I knew from there on that it was love at first sight; Burt’s Bees Pomegranate Replenishing Lip Balm and Sandra Marianne Hamaoui, together forever in holy matrimony.
A gold bracelet.
People always say that my grandmother, Claire, and I are the same person: we have a tendency to love unimportant “girly-girl” things. Perfume, jewelry, make-up, and clothes - what most would describe as a bunch of superficial nonsense. However, this “superficial nonsense” is sometimes important to my grandmother and me. But do not be fooled; though we may appear to be gentle “girly-girl” delicate beings, looks can be deceiving. (Caution: Grandmother and
Chapstick.
No, I do not carry it for fear of coming across Prince Charming and diving into his arms for the fairy-tale kiss. But I do fear chapped lips; it is more of a phobia (chapped-obia?). I was eight years old in the Alps of France over winter break when no one informed me that chapstick would be a good little soldier in my pocket to defend my lips from the enemy: the cold (and cue the evil soundtrack). Cracked, dried, irritated lips soon came my way, and Superhero Chapstick came to save the day.
I prefer Burt’s Bees Pomegranate Replenishing Lip Balm with Pomegranate Oil (ingredients: sunflower seed oil, beeswax, coconut oil, castor oil, lanolin, comfrey root, pomegranate oil, sweet almond oil, anise oil, cassia, cinnamon leaf oil, clary sage oil, mandarin oil, tocopheryl oil & tocopherol, rosemary leaf extract, carmine, fragrance). The ingredients (not that I actually know what they all mean) are the perfect army of soldiers against the weather. One day, as I was roaming through the aisles of Walgreens, I stumbled upon this new magical creation. I read the ingredients (finally, a chapstick without the fraud Petroleum Jelly) and knew at once that it was the equivalence of nectar from the Greek Gods.
And I knew from there on that it was love at first sight; Burt’s Bees Pomegranate Replenishing Lip Balm and Sandra Marianne Hamaoui, together forever in holy matrimony.
A gold bracelet.
People always say that my grandmother, Claire, and I are the same person: we have a tendency to love unimportant “girly-girl” things. Perfume, jewelry, make-up, and clothes - what most would describe as a bunch of superficial nonsense. However, this “superficial nonsense” is sometimes important to my grandmother and me. But do not be fooled; though we may appear to be gentle “girly-girl” delicate beings, looks can be deceiving. (Caution: Grandmother and