The Woodbury Lions Club has sponsored a garage sale day in May for as long as we have lived in Minnesota, and I assume many years before that. It is an absolutely great day for those interested in shopping, because there are lots of sales to look through, and it is a great day for sellers, because lots of people come for the lots of sales.
I hosted a sale at my house for quite a few years when the kids were middle sized. Since we lived on the corner, and our side street was an artery into the neighborhood, we had the ideal location. I told everyone I knew that I was happy to take whatever they had – just mark it with their name and price and I would add it to the pile. I knew the more we had, the more people would stop. I shouldn’t say I, because I did it the first year at the suggestion of my friend, Carla, and never did it without her again. She brought things from everyone she knew too, and sometimes we were our best customers – gobbling up our friends’ stuff.
Our friend and neighbor, Sue, often joined us. It was always fun, but one year stands head and shoulders (cushions and pillows?) above the rest of the years.
We had a couch.
I think it was Sue’s. Maybe it wasn’t. It doesn’t matter. It sold first thing in the morning, but wasn’t getting picked up until evening. So we sat on it. All through the gorgeous, gorgeous May afternoon the three of us sat on the couch and watched our shoppers and chatted. The kids were in school and we were reveling in the splendor of the sun from the comfort of a couch. I have no idea what we talked about, what we laughed about, but it is just one of my favorite memories of ever. Sue and I went for a walk today, and we were talking about the sales of years gone by when I brought up the couch. We were (truly coincidentally) just past our old house. We turned around and just grinned at the now empty driveway and remembered that glorious day. Fabulous.