What's Bigger Than a Breadbox?

Thanks to an online community sharing group, I am now the proud owner of a breadbox. I’ve wanted one for a long time; every single time I buy bread and am forced to make that decision whether or not to put it in the refrigerator. Do I know how soon I will use it? If I leave it out, will it go stale? Is it too humid to leave it out? I hate putting bread in the fridge (it doesn’t stay nice and soft), but what I hate more is having to throw away stale or moldy bread that I’ve left out on the countertop because I didn’t use it soon enough.

Every time I have this conversation with myself, I think of Grandma. Grandma Josie had a breadbox. Grandma’s bread was always fresh. I want a breadbox.

Of course, Grandma pretty much always bought her bread fresh from the bakery daily – but even the ‘leftover’ bread was still good. Because she had a breadbox.

My former mother-in-law had a breadbox, too. Coincidentally, her name was Josie, too. She, too, was a tiny little Italian woman who bought her bread daily from the bakery.

In this online group I belong to, members post items they are getting rid of. Other members comment on the post if they are interested in the item and ‘winners’ are chosen randomly. One person’s trash …

When I first joined, I got carried away with my interest in a lot of items, forgetting I had to make time to go pick everything up from each gifter’s home. I’m more careful now, making sure I can set aside that time – or try to be. Being able to get rid of some of my own things has been a plus; I’m even inclined to finally get rid of items I had previously insisted on keeping even though I never used them because I know they are going to someone who actually wants them, who will use them and/or love them.

Lately, my time has been tighter than usual and I’ve stayed off the page so that I don’t see what I don’t have time to pick up if I’m selected. Today, I happened to have time and looked at all the available goodies. I was surprised to see that a breadbox had been posted many days earlier and that no one else had shown any interest in it. I was all over it.

Because the mandatory ‘waiting’ period of letting as many people as possible see the item had passed, the owner promptly responded that it was mine.

Mine. A breadbox. I was so happy!

Now, if you ask me if something’s bigger than a breadbox, I have an actual point of reference.

It really is the little things, because in reality, the little things are never so little; there’s always a bigger thought behind that ‘little’ thing. Not only do I get to keep my bread out the way I like to, but I have Grandma Josie and Josie around now, too.

I don’t believe in coincidences; coincidence implies haphazard randomness. I believe in serendipity - despite the fact that ‘chance’ is considered part of the definition – which implies, to me, a grand Universal alignment. All the little ‘signs’ were there; the gifter and I share the same name (I’d already told her of my envy of her last name for my own silly reasons), her house number is a favorite of mine, and after she told me I could have it she mentioned how much she loved it and she called it a ‘hard to part with’ item. It was meant for me, someone who would love it as much, to have it.

Serendipity.

That’s definitely bigger than a breadbox.