Small moments that mean a lot

My elderly neighbor is slowly going through all the things in her house in preparation for moving closer to her family in another state. She's assessing them, deciding what to keep, what to get rid of. "Hey, kid. I want to show you something." (I love being called "kid.") She reaches into a round wooden basket of sorts and pulls out a beaded bag. It's 200 years old, given to her grandmother in Idaho by a Nez Perce Indian woman. Oh, my gosh. It's beautiful. It's heavy. It looks brand-new. What a thrill to hold something this old, something that undoubtedly took a very long time to make. I ask if I can take some photos of it. "Go ahead, kid!" I set it on her floor and take a few images. As you can see, her wood floor looks pretty cool, too! A brief moment in time for me, but one that will linger. ©Carol Leigh