I was so excited when I got the news in my morning email. It started with “congratulations.” A piece of my art has been accepted for a large mural in Pennsylvania. I would tell you more, but as I reached the end of the email, it specifically said, please don’t share this news before the reveal in June. They have no idea what they are doing to me.
Don’t get me wrong, I can keep a secret, if it means someone’s security. If it’s about your truest feelings. Your heart-felt desires — sure. But when it comes to a surprise — a joyful surprise — like a present or great news, this is a definite struggle. In my defense, let me take you back to Ben Franklin in my summer youth, most specifically, Crazy Days with my Grandma Elsie. Ben Franklin, along with so many of the other stores on Main Street, offered what they call grab bags. They were just as you might think — unlabeled brown paper sacks with mystery items inside. They might be priced at a quarter, fifty cents, and usually worth that much or often less. But this game of chance to my Grandma was irresistible. Every year we bought many, but not before feeling each one thoroughly. “Really get your hands around it,” she’d tell me. And sometimes, if the staple was placed right in the middle, my five to six year old chubby fingers could sneak in without ripping the sides and give a full reveal. And so began my life-long journey of racing secrets.
My mother was no better. She couldn’t give me a gift without telling me what it was. Once in a while, we’d make it to the unwrapping, but not often. “Do you want a hint?” she’d ask, weeks before my birthday. “No,” I’d say, knowing it didn’t matter. “How about if you hold it?” “No.” “Maybe just give it a shake…” “No.” “What if I just told you where I bought it?” And this would continue until I was actually wearing the item two weeks before my birthday.
It was all joy. They couldn’t get to it fast enough. And who could blame them? The giggling! I can still hear it! It wriggles inside of me, along with the image of my secret art piece. I’m looking at it now, knowing they’ve already begun their heavenly whispers (very loudly of course — neither mastered the skill of the whisper either).
I won’t post the winning image…yet…but in my heart, oh, the happiness rumbles! I don’t know what the day will bring, but I promise I’m going to really get my chubby hands around it and find the joy! Won’t you join me?
