The Power of a Q-Tip

Night before last, I colored my hair. I’m too cheap to do it at the salon. It usually turns out ok, so I don’t sweat it. After all the rinsing and conditioning, I scrounged around the bathroom drawers to find a box of Q-tips (can’t risk leaving in colorant in the ears...). The box of Wegman’s brand Q-tips I found held a lot of precious memories for me.

For those of you who don’t know, Wegman’s is a grocery chain in the Northeast. I only went there once...with my Aaron. It was during the few days we were by ourselves at the Ronald McDonald House in Camden before his surgeries. It was a really nice grocery store, tons of food choices, parking right in the front for parents of small children, and these great upright buggies (Yankees call them "carts") that hold a baby carrier nicely on top. You can’t find them around here. Aaron and I were anticipating the arrival of Scott, my mom and Levi, and we went out to pick up some important items like Diet Mountain Dew, cereal, yogurt, etc.

I wish I could remember all the specifics about that day, but I can’t. I do remember it was warmer than normal for early March in New Jersey. I wish I had taken pictures of our only trip to Wegman’s in our rented Ford Focus, but I didn’t. I thought we would have many more outings together instead of just a handful of excursions to Target, Babies R Us, Chik Fila and Wegman’s. We did take little trips through the McDonald’s drive-thru a few times just for a change of scenery. If I had known how short our time would be together outside the hospital, and in life, I would have photographed every moment. Sadly, I didn’t.

I guess the good thing about the Q-tips is that they remind me not to take time with the ones I love for granted. And to be thankful for the memories I do have.